Technology stocks have largely been driven by a narrow leadership group, the so-called Magnificent 7. Over the past 12 months, however, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has quietly outperformed every other member of that elite cohort.
Most investors attribute that outperformance to the obvious drivers: consecutive quarterly earnings beats, resilient growth in Search, accelerating momentum in Google Cloud, expanding profitability, and visible leadership in artificial intelligence. Even Waymo has begun shifting from a long-term experiment to a tangible commercial opportunity.
But beyond its core operations, several less obvious forces are helping power Alphabet’s relative strength. The company is not only executing within its own business lines, but it also holds meaningful stakes in some of the most important private technology companies in the world today.
Here is a closer look at a few of the underappreciated reasons behind GOOGL’s outperformance.
Alphabet Owns 14% of Anthropic
One of the most overlooked assets on Alphabet’s balance sheet is its stake in Anthropic, the AI research company behind the Claude family of large language models.
If you have been following recent market volatility in software, cybersecurity, and enterprise modernization stocks, much of the fear has centered around the rapid advancement of AI coding assistants and automation tools. Claude has emerged as one of the most capable models for reasoning, coding, and structured problem-solving. Its API, Claude Projects, and developer tools such as Claude Code are increasingly embedded into enterprise workflows.
Alphabet owns roughly 14% of Anthropic following a series of multi-billion-dollar investments. That ownership is part of Anthropic’s broader multi-cloud strategy, which also includes backing from Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
There are two important angles here.
First, Anthropic has been widely discussed as a potential IPO candidate in 2026. Some estimates have put valuations at around $380 billion. If such a listing materializes near those levels, Alphabet’s stake could represent a substantial mark-to-market gain.
Second, Anthropic relies heavily on Google Cloud infrastructure. The companies have struck agreements involving large-scale deployment of Google’s custom AI chips, including Tensor Processing Units, to train and scale Claude. In other words, Alphabet benefits not only as an equity holder but also as a critical infrastructure provider.
Alphabet’s Early Stake in SpaceX
Anthropic is not the only high-profile private company where Alphabet holds a meaningful interest.
In 2015, Google invested approximately $900 million for a 7.4% stake in SpaceX, the aerospace and space transportation company founded by Elon Musk. At the time, SpaceX was valued at nearly $12 billion. Starlink was still largely conceptual, and revenue was modest.
Fast forward a decade, and that investment has become one of the most successful venture bets of the modern era. Should SpaceX eventually pursue a public listing, with speculation at times pointing to a 2026 $1.5 trillion IPO, Alphabet’s original $900 million investment could be worth over 100x that amount.
Alphabet’s Worldwide Device Power
Finally, there is Alphabet’s global distribution advantage, which may be its most durable edge.
As of early 2026, roughly 3.9 billion devices run Android. The vast majority rely on Google Mobile Services. Meanwhile, Google Chrome controls about 63% of the global browser market, and Google Search reaches close to 5 billion users worldwide.
That scale creates a distribution moat that few companies can rival.
Importantly, Alphabet’s AI model, Gemini, is extending that reach even further. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently selected Gemini to help power next-generation AI capabilities within Siri. At the same time, Samsung is expanding the number of devices running Gemini-powered features.
Practically speaking, Gemini now runs on Android smartphones, Apple devices, and Google’s Chrome ecosystem. That positions Alphabet’s AI at the center of billions of daily interactions, embedding its models into consumer hardware worldwide.
The Bigger Picture
Alphabet’s outperformance is not just about quarterly beats or headline AI announcements. It is also about strategic positioning.
A meaningful stake in Anthropic, an early investment in SpaceX, and unmatched global device distribution all provide layers of exposure beyond core Search and Cloud. Together, they create optionality, embedded value, and ecosystem dominance that many investors may still be underappreciating.
When you combine operational strength with strategic equity stakes and global distribution scale, it becomes clearer why Alphabet has quietly pulled ahead of its Magnificent 7 peers.
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The article "Alphabet’s Quiet Edge: The Hidden Assets Powering Its Run" first appeared on MarketBeat.
