Is Alphabet Still a Millionaire-Maker Stock? A Look Back at Google’s Growth

In August 2004, Google went public amid Michael Phelps' Olympic victories and Terror Squad's chart-topping music. A $10,200 investment at IPO would now be worth approximately $1 million. The question lingers: Can parent company Alphabet replicate such staggering returns?

Google's ascent began in 1996 as a Stanford research project by Sergey Brin and Larry Page. By its 2004 IPO, it dominated search advertising—still accounting for 75% of Alphabet's revenue. Strategic acquisitions like Android, YouTube, and DoubleClick fueled its expansion into a tech conglomerate.

The digital advertising moat remains formidable, but Alphabet faces new challenges in AI and cloud computing. While crypto assets like BTC and ETH capture modern investor attention, Alphabet's legacy growth story offers sobering perspective on long-term value creation.