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Almost three years ago, on 4 November 2022, my wife and I bought into several mega-cap American businesses. We did so after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index had slumped to its 2022 low. One share we bought that day had been on my watchlist for ages: Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) stock.
Nasdaq nightmares
As the global threat caused by Covid-19 receded, US shares skyrocketed. From 30 October 2020 to 19 November 2021, the Nasdaq Composite soared by 47.2%.
Throughout late 2021, I repeatedly warned Fool readers that US stocks were at unsustainably high levels. Indeed, I worried that a full-blown stock-market crash was brewing. This duly arrived, with the Nasdaq collapsing by 34.8% from 19 November 2021 to 4 November 2022.
This massive market meltdown led me to buy US tech stocks on a scale we’ve rarely reached before. And I’m delighted that all six large-cap stocks we bought — on the very day the 2022 crash ended — have produced life-changing gains.
Good old Google
On 19 November 2021, Alphabet stock closed at $149.95, having more than doubled in 14 months. Alas, stock in the owner of Google, YouTube and Waymo then headed steeply south. On 4 November 2022, this stock closed at $86.70, having crashed by 42.2% since 19 November 2021.
As it happens — and whether by sheer luck or judgement — we bought Alphabet at its 2022 low. As I write, the non-voting Class C shares trade at $237.42 (Alphabet also has Class A shares with voting rights). Today, these shares are worth 173.8% more — in theory, at least.
Now for three snags. In the UK, buyers have to pay stamp duty of 0.5% of the value of share purchases. Also, our stockbroker charges dealing and currency commissions, which also eat into our returns. But our biggest setback is the increase in the value of the pound versus the dollar over time.
When we bought our Alphabet stock, £1 bought $1.14. Today, this exchange rate is $1.35. This currency change has reduced the value of our shareholding by around 15.6%, which is a pretty bitter blow. Despite these negatives, our stake in Alphabet is up 140% in 34 months. That’s one of our top trades since 2021.
Would I buy it today?
Earlier this year, Alphabet stock plunged for two reasons. First, because of President Trump’s higher tariffs on US imports, which sent global stock markets plunging in April. But Alphabet also had its own problems, in the form of various anti-trust lawsuits relating to its dominance in online search and advertising. Last week, on 3 September, the first of these settled very favourably for Alphabet.
During this spring and summer, I made the case again and again that Alphabet stock had moved deep into value territory. I proved to be right, as the share price has leapt 61.9% since the 2025 closing low of 8 April.
After this price boost, Alphabet shares trade on 25.7 times trailing earnings and offer a dividend yield below 0.4% a year. This strikes me as neither particularly cheap nor expensive, so Alphabet is not on my personal buy or sell list. However, I’d be very tempted to buy more stock at prices below $160. Bring on the next stock-market crash!
