Google CEO Sundar Pichai has executed a significant sale of shares in Alphabet Inc., the parent company of the tech giant. According to official filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Pichai offloaded 30,521 shares of Class C Capital Stock on January 21, 2026.
Details of the Share Transaction
The share sale was conducted at prices ranging from $320.35 to $331.97 per share, culminating in a total transaction value of $10,637,367. Following this latest transaction, Sundar Pichai's current holdings now stand at 2,211,872 shares of Class C Capital Stock and 227,560 shares of Class A Common Stock.
Pre-Planned Trading Under SEC Rule
As documented in SEC Form 4, these shares were sold under a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan that Pichai adopted on December 2, 2024. The filing explicitly states: "All transactions reported in this Form 4 were effected pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan adopted by the Reporting Person on December 2, 2024." Such plans allow corporate insiders to sell predetermined amounts of stock at scheduled times, helping to avoid potential accusations of trading on non-public information.
Timing Ahead of Quarterly Earnings
This share sale comes just ahead of Alphabet's announcement of its fourth-quarter earnings for 2025. The timing is noteworthy as the company has been experiencing remarkable stock performance recently.
Google's Exceptional 2025 Performance
Google concluded 2025 with its strongest annual performance since 2009, with shares surging approximately 93% that year. In 2025 alone, the company's shares jumped an impressive 65%, largely fueled by Google's advancements in artificial intelligence.
The AI-driven growth was propelled by several key developments:
- Multiple Gemini model releases throughout the year
- The debut of Gemini 3 in November 2025
- Unveiling of Ironwood, the seventh generation of Google's AI chips
- Growing competition with industry leader Nvidia
Historic Market Valuation Milestone
Earlier in January 2026, Alphabet briefly crossed the historic $4 trillion market valuation threshold, joining an elite club of technology titans that includes Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft. According to Reuters reports, Class-A shares rose as much as 1.7% to hit a record high of $334.04 during this period.
Strategic Partnership with Apple
Adding to the positive momentum, Google recently announced a significant partnership with Apple to utilize Google Gemini as the foundation for Apple's AI models and the next generation of Siri, Apple's virtual assistant and chatbot. Following this announcement, Alphabet's stock grew by 1.3% to just over $337 billion on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
The combination of strong AI performance, strategic partnerships, and record valuations has positioned Alphabet as one of the most valuable companies in the world, making executive stock transactions like Pichai's particularly noteworthy for investors and market observers.
