Google is way more than just a search engine. Since the company kicked off operations several decades ago, it has grown to become one of the largest technology companies in the world. Its parent company, Alphabet, Inc. is among the most successful cloud computing and software companies out there
Along with its rapid growth, GOOGL stock has continued to appreciate in value. Without mincing words, GOOGL has seen an average annual gain of over 18% in the last five years, far outperforming the likes of the S&P 500.
For those wondering how they can add Google stocks to their portfolio, today’s guide has everything you need to know about buying Google shares. Let’s start with a brief overview of the company:
An overview of Google
Google, a brainchild of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, started off as an attempt to organize and rank information across the internet. Today, the company has achieved tremendous success with that and has sojourned into other tech niches. While many people consider Google a genius for revolutionizing the search engine, the company has metamorphosed into a full-fledged software, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence company.
Its parent company, Alphabet Inc. has enabled the company to spread its tentacles to other niches within the tech sector. As Google’s influence continues to soar, so has its stock value. When the company decided to go public in 2004, it was only valued at $23, billion, which was a lot of money back then. But by 2022, Google’s valuation was around $1.5 trillion, making it one of the most highly valued tech companies, alongside big names like Microsoft and Apple.
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Trading with financial instruments carries high level of risks that is not suitable for all investors. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisor to ensure you understand the risks involved.
All of this makes investing in Google shares a brilliant move. But before you join the bandwagon of those who just invest in shares and stocks of companies because of the hype, it’s important you put some things into consideration. Read on for some things you need to consider before investing in Google stock.
GOOG vs GOOGL: Is there any difference?
Before you put your hard earned money into GOOGL stock, you’ll need to make up your mind on the type of Google stock you’d like to invest in, and here is why. Google shares come in two variants: GOOGL and GOOG.
The difference between these two Google stocks is that one carries voting rights and the other doesn’t. To start with GOOGL is a Class A common stock. Shareholders who have this stock in their portfolio have the right to vote on company matters. On the flip side, GOOG is a Class C stock without any type of voting rights.
Let us also add that there is also a Class B Google stock. Shareholders who own Google’s Class B share enjoy supercharged voting rights as they have up to 10 votes per share. These shares are owned exclusively by the company’s founders, Lary Page, Sergey Brin, and former CEO, Eric Schmidt. Owning these shares gives them control over the company.
Due to its voting rights, GOOGL stock trade at a bit of a premium over GOOG. Nevertheless, following the stock split that happened in 2014, both stocks have pretty similar pricing. So the only major difference between these stock options is the voting rights that come with GOOGL.
Aside from deciding whether having voting rights is something you’d like to pursue, investing in Google stock also means doing a bit of research into the company. This way, you know the risks involved in buying the company’s stocks. Doing some background checks on the company will prepare you for any bumps that may surface later. A google place to kick off your research is to read ab
Aside from deciding if voting rights are essential to you, investing in Google also means doing about GOOGL and GOOG’s recent earnings reports. Also, pay attention to what analysts think about the company and the industry it operates.
What we love about researching is that it helps you spot potential risks. More so, it also highlights the potential for rewards.
See Google Stock in the context of an investment plan
Even if Google’s financials are pretty great and share prices are destined to continue to skyrocket, this doesn’t make Google shares a great fit for everyone and we will tell you why shortly.
Assuming you already have a sizable amount of your money in high-growth technology stocks like Apple and Microsoft, adding Google to your portfolio may not be a smart move, especially from the risk perspective. Similarly, if the money you can afford to lose is tied up in another investment, it wouldn’t be a smart move to use your children’s college fund to scoop up some technology stocks, no matter the prospect they have.
Another thing you want to consider is your time frame. Will you be needing the invested sum in the next five years or less? If so, putting that money in the stock market wouldn’t be such a great plan as you don’t have enough time to sit through a market crash.
The best way anyone can make an excellent financial decision is to have a clear sense of their financial goals for the money they have and how they would like to diversify that money to mitigate risks.
Open a brokerage account
Before you can invest in Google stocks and shares, you’ll need to open a brokerage account. And thankfully, there are dozens of online brokerage companies including big names like eToro, Fidelity, Plus500, AvaTrade, and others out there, who make it seamless for customers to set up an account. As a matter of fact, opening a brokerage account only takes a couple of minutes.
We have also written some detailed guides on the best online brokers and best investment apps, you can check out these guides to select a broker that works for you.
In addition to choosing a good broker, it’s important you consider the type of account you want. If you plan to invest for your golden years, we suggest you choose an individual retirement account (IRA). The cool thing about this option is that you get valuable tax benefits. On the flip side, if you’re building wealth for near-term goals, it’s best to opt for a taxable brokerage account.
Decide how much to invest in Google
After signing up for a brokerage account, you still need to decide on how much you’d like to invest in Google stock. You also need to decide the type of order you want to use.
While you can buy individual shares of Google on any broker of your choice, the amount of money you can invest depends on a number of factors. For those who don’t already have a diversified portfolio or a solid emergency fund, it’s important you put a cap on investing in an individual stock like Google.
While Google prices may be too high for you to buy one share, we are happy to inform you that brokers like Fidelity and eToro allow you to buy fractional shares. Fractional shares allow investors to buy a portion of the share instead of the whole thing.
Another thing you should factor in is the recent Google 20-to-1 stock split, which happened on the 15th of July, 2022. The stock split, which was the company’s first in over eight years cut the price of individual shares of GOOGL and GOOG significantly. Nonetheless, whether you invested before the stock split or after it, you’re still in for a rollercoaster ride as the company’s stock has continued to rise in value.
While the stock split move ensured that investors had more shares, the value of their shares was still the same.
Order types
As we mentioned earlier when investing in Google stock, it’s important you decide on the type of order that works for you. For those looking to buy some Google stocks, two of the most common order types used by investors include market orders and limit orders.
With a market order, you are essentially telling the brokerage to execute your order as soon as possible. To this end, the final price you end up getting might be slightly higher than the price you initially saw when placing the order.
On the other hand, with a limit order, you’re telling the brokerage to only execute your order at a specific price. The only caveat with the second option is that you may end up missing out on great trades as the price may not reach the level you were looking for.
Place your order
Before you can place your order for Google stock on your preferred broker, you’ll need to have made some deposit into your trading account. Once your account is funded, you can search for the company’s ticker symbol: GOOGL or GOOG on your preferred broker and enter the dollar value for the amount of shares you want.
If you want to buy the shares right away, you can use the market order. On the flip side, you can use the limit order to get Google stock at a predetermined price.
Google trades on the Nasdaq exchange. This means you can buy and sell Google shares between 9:30 a.m to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Some brokers even offer extended pre-hours and after-hours trading.
Review your investment
Even with a high-performing stock like Google, you don’t want to manage everything on autopilot. As a smart investor, it’s important to keep track of your investment every now and then. This helps you know exactly how your investment is going.
To know how your investment performs, you can always compare Google’s performance to that of a benchmark index, like the S&P 500.
How to buy Google stock on eToro
Now that you know how to invest in Google stock, we want to use this opportunity to show you how you can buy Google shares on an exchange like eToro. And just so you know, the process is pretty straightforward and only takes a couple of minutes. Here, check out how anyone can buy Google stock on eToro.
Create an eToro account
If you don’t already have an account with eToro, you’d have to open one to be able to buy Google stock. As we earlier reiterated, the process is simple. If you already have an account with eToro, you can simply log in.
During the signup process, you’ll be required to provide basic information like name, email address, and phone number. Nonetheless, to fund your eToro trading account, you’ll need to provide additional info so the broker can verify your identity.
Complete your eToro profile
If you’re opening your account for the first time on eToro, you’d be required to complete your profile. For customers who have an existing account, you can skip this process. Completing your profile only takes a couple of minutes and is a requirement by most brokers as per AML and CTF regulations. With your profile now complete, you can proceed to other aspects.
Fund your trading account
After completing your eToro profile, you’ll need to fund your trading account to be able to buy some Google stocks. We love eToro because they have a low minimum deposit requirement. To start trading on the eToro platform, you’ll need to make a minimum deposit of $200 or it’s equivalent in other currencies.
And just to add, eToro supports up to 8 popular deposit methods including PayPal, wire transfer, UnionPay, credit or debit cards, Neteller, Skrill, and WebMoney. So, funding your account is super easy.
Tip: If you’re not fully convinced or you don’t feel ready to invest real money, you can test the waters with eToro’s virtual portfolio feature. This option lets you trade your favorite stocks without putting in real money. And as you gain experience and feel more comfortable, you can switch to a real portfolio.
Buy GOOGL or GOOG stock
With your eToro account now funded, you can proceed to buy Google stocks. While eToro lets you buy Google shares seamlessly, you can also decide to short it. Keep in mind that the direction you decide to take is based on current market sentiments or direction. Here is how you can buy Google stock on eToro.
Navigate to eToro’s unique search bar which sits at the top of the screen. Enter the ticker name associated with Google stocks: GOOGL or GOOG. Hit the trade now button to place your order. A new window should pop up, allowing you to make changes to different parameters. Its that easy.
