Alphabet Inc. (Class A) management check
GOOGL / GOOG · Communication Services · Interactive Media & Services · CEO Sundar Pichai
Filings as of
6 good · 1 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $361, against $138 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.32 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.01% of net income$10.9m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $132.2bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 52 years of payThe CEO holds 1,675,066 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 52 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $4.4m sold in six months. 39 of 39 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -2.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 6.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
9 leadership filings in 3 years9 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2023.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Communication Services.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 27 | |
| Pay for performance | 66 | 76 | |
| CEO cost | 100 | 72 | |
| Skin in the game | 100 | 75 | |
| Dilution | 74 | 65 | |
| Stable leadership | 80 | 93 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Interactive Media & Services, by management score. Alphabet Inc. (Class A) is 1st of 18 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 24, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | — | $10.9m | $213.9m | $32.9m | $361 | $138 | $132.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $10.8m | $215.7m | $39.1m | $218 | $115 | $100.1bn |
| 2023 | — | $8.8m | $235.1m | $34.6m | $161 | $87 | $73.8bn |
| 2022 | — | $226.0m | $115.8m | $30.8m | $101 | $59 | $60.0bn |
| 2021 | — | $6.3m | $267.3m | $21.7m | $165 | $98 | $76.0bn |
The board says pay is tied most to 1-Year TSR Relative to S&P 100.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Sundar Pichai (Chief Executive Officer) held 1,675,066 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 25, 2026, roughly $567.9m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $4.4m sold in six months. 39 of 39 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldJohn Kent WalkerPresident, Global Affairs, CLO · 10b5-1 plan$3.1mJun 29, 2026
- SoldJohn L. HennessyDirector · 10b5-1 plan$800kJun 15, 2026
- SoldMarsida SaraciVP, Chief Accounting Officer · 10b5-1 plan$303kJul 29, 2026
- SoldFrances ArnoldDirector · 10b5-1 plan$199kSep 30, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Jun 11, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 10, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 2, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 17, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 7, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 11, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $296.4bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 67% of net income, and $104.9bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $257.6bn | $282.8bn | $307.4bn | $350.0bn | $402.8bn |
| Net income | $76.0bn | $60.0bn | $73.8bn | $100.1bn | $132.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $15.4bn | $19.4bn | $22.5bn | $22.8bn | $25.0bn |
| Buybacks | $50.3bn | $59.3bn | $61.5bn | $62.2bn | $45.7bn |
| Dividends | — | $0 | $0 | $7.4bn | $10.0bn |
| Diluted shares | — | 13159m | 12722m | 12447m | 12230m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.