Alphabet (GOOGL) stock just had its best month \u2014 up nearly 34% \u2014 since Google was still a recent IPO.<\/p>\n
October 2004 was Google\u2019s first real breakout month as a public company, coming only a few months after its Nasdaq debut.<\/p>\n The move helped define April\u2019s tech-led market rebound, when the biggest stocks again did the heaviest lifting.<\/p>\n April added roughly $1.2 trillion to Alphabet\u2019s market value, or just over 50 times Google\u2019s IPO valuation. It\u2019s a reminder that Google followed one of Wall Street\u2019s rarest IPO paths: It launched, held, and never really gave investors the usual reset.<\/p>\n Most IPOs don\u2019t work that way.<\/p>\n Kathy Donnelly, co-author of \u201cThe Lifecycle Trade,\u201d has said 91% of IPOs eventually undercut their first-day low.<\/p>\n That first-day low is an important line for IPO traders because it marks the point where early buyers are officially underwater. Once a new issue breaks below that level, the original debut story often gives way to a longer reset.<\/p>\n Google barely gave investors that chance.<\/p>\n The company went public in August 2004 at an IPO valuation of about $23 billion. By the end of April, Alphabet was worth roughly $4.65 trillion \u2014 more than 200 times that starting valuation.<\/p>\n That scale is what makes the April move stand out. Alphabet not only had a strong month, but added more market value in those 21 trading days than most companies in the world are worth.<\/p>\n And Alphabet is still acting like a leader.<\/p>\n After the Iran war knocked stocks down a peg, Alphabet was among the first megacaps \u2014 along with Amazon (AMZN) and Nvidia (NVDA) \u2014 to break back to fresh records.<\/p>\n Apple (AAPL) is now trying to join that group after earnings, putting the megacap leadership trade back in focus.<\/p>\n But Alphabet got there first. It enters May as the year-to-date leader in the \u201cMagnificent Seven,\u201d up 22%, with a fresh record intraday high to start the month \u2014 its fourth of the year.<\/p>\n The next test is whether Alphabet can keep that lead as the rally moves from recovery back to record-chasing.<\/p>\n Jared Blikre is the global markets and data editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @SPYJared or email him at <\/em>jaredblikre@yahooinc.com<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Alphabet](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/e_IKLj8yAujD6XwQEoTWGA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0OA--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/googl-monthly-2004_4637.png\")
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