Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) vs Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

Alphabet Inc. is a holding company that wholly owns Google, one of the world’s largest internet businesses. Based in California, the company generates just under 90% of its revenue from Google Services, with advertising sales representing the clear majority. In addition to digital advertising, Google Services includes revenue from subscription offerings such as YouTube TV and YouTube Music, platform sales and in-app purchases through the Play Store, and hardware products including Chromebooks, Pixel smartphones, and smart home devices like Chromecast. Google Cloud contributes about 10% of Alphabet’s total revenue. The remainder comes from investments in emerging technologies and businesses, including self-driving cars through Waymo, health initiatives via Verily, and internet access services such as Google Fiber.

Meta Platforms, Inc. is the world’s largest social media company, reaching nearly 4 billion monthly active users globally. Its core business, known as the Family of Apps, includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Users rely on these platforms for a wide range of activities, from staying connected with friends and following public figures to operating digital businesses at no cost. Meta monetizes its ecosystem by using customer data generated across its apps to sell advertising to digital marketers. Although the company has invested significantly in Reality Labs, that segment still represents only a small portion of Meta’s total revenue.