YouTube stock isn’t a thing, but if it were, it would be big. Big. It’s the most popular video streaming platform on the planet since its launch in 2005. And the price of Google’s stock reflects just that! That’s right. Google owns YouTube, so if you want to get in on the success, look only as far as the world’s most successful search engine.
Can you believe it’s been 15 years since its launch already?! As a result, you may be wondering, is there a YouTube stock price? Read on; we’ll give you the scoop on how to get in on momentum behind this streaming platform.
Did you know it’s the second most visited website in the world, with visitors watching around 6 billion, yes billion, hours of video a month? That is insane.
Table of Contents
YouTube Introduction (No Stock Symbol)
Because YouTube is so popular, one of the most frequently asked questions out there is: Is there a YouTube stock? The short answer is no. YouTube is a subsidiary of the same company that has Google. You could trade or invest in YouTube by purchasing stock in Alphabet $GOOGL.
All of this goes without saying: YouTube is THE media platform of the world. Oh, and it’s a multi-billion dollar company with annual revenues of $15.1 billion in 2019.
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If this does not scream opportunity, I don’t know what does. For these reasons alone, I’d want to buy YouTube stock and thus stock in Google. But the billion-dollar question remains: should you buy shares of YouTube stock, and if so, how much will it cost?
YouTube Stock History
Started by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley, YouTube has become one of the most visited websites in the history of the internet.
In 2004, as employees of PayPal, the three quickly realized that there wasn’t one spot online where people could share videos. Surprisingly, inspiration hit thanks to the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident and the tsunami in December. Thanks to Sequoia Capitals’ investment of $11.5 million in 2005, YouTube was launched and registered in the headquarters above a pizzeria in California.
Fast-forward to April, and the first-ever video, “Me at the Zoo,” was uploaded. Eight months later, a Nike ($NKE) commercial became the first video to receive one million views.
In an attempt to keep up with the times, the YouTube website underwent a massive overhaul towards the end of 2011. And only one year later, Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ was the first video to hit one billion views!!!
We all use YouTube, including the Bullish Bears. Check out our YouTube channel for educational content centered around the stock market.
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Multi-Billion Dollar Company
It may not have been the grandest start, but who would have ever thought a 20-second clip at the Zoo would mark the beginnings of this internet behemoth?
Since the Zoo days, YouTube has grown in many ways. In terms of the site itself, they’ve recently added live streaming. A feature that we use daily. Moreover, five billion videos are watched daily, over 1.3 billion people use the site, and 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute.
Put another way, you’d need around 82 years to watch all the new content uploaded to YouTube in just a single day. Wow.
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Who Owns YouTube?
Google! In 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock. At that time, it was Google’s second-largest acquisition.
Google thought they were on to something good, and judging by the immediate success of YouTube, they were right. This has kick-started YouTube’s rise to fame for many, and I agree.
Google acquired YouTube as a way to combine its search and organization competencies with YouTube’s expansive video library. This was a brilliant move on Google’s part. The investment has turned out to be one of the best by the internet search engine giant.
How to Get a Piece of YouTube
At this point, I probably have you logging into your brokerage account and clamoring to buy YouTube stock. But you can’t, at least not directly. That’s because Alphabet YouTube is owned by Alphabet, better known as Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
In light of this, if you want to buy shares of YouTube, then you have to buy Google stock. Google currently trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the United States. Besides, with revenues of over $90 billion, Google is one of the biggest companies on the exchange. You’ll also hear them mentioned as part of the FAANG group on CNBC or social media. (FAANG stands for Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google!
Of course, if Google decided to sell YouTube (not so sure why they would ever do that!), then you would still hold Google stock and not YouTube stock. Make sure to take advantage of our free online trading courses as well.
Can You Invest in YouTube Stock?
Can you invest in YouTube? Indirectly, you can. While there’s no actual YouTube stock, you can invest in $GOOGL, which controls both YouTube and Google. As a result, you’re still making money off both private companies. That is, as long as you use proper stock trading risks and plans.
Can I Afford Google Stock?
At $1266.61 per share at the time of writing, Google Stock isn’t cheap. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t have $1200 to buy only one share, haha. Worse yet, if you wanted to buy 100 shares, it would set you back $126,661.
However, there is an alternative method that requires less capital: options. Did you know that one option contract allows you to control 100 shares of Google?
And what’s great about options is that you don’t have to pay for the 100 shares. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details, but the cost of an options contract is a fraction of the cost of purchasing shares outright.
Check out our options course for a more detailed explanation of how you can buy options contracts.
Since You Can't Buy It, Make It!
Even though we can’t buy YouTube stock directly, we can profit in another way: You can be a YouTuber.
To be honest, up until last year, I had no idea people could make money off videos on YouTube. It was my 12-year-old cousin who informed me his friend sits in the basement, plays video games, and people pay to watch him. I thought to my self; you’ve got to be kidding me. I get mad when my boyfriend plays video games; who in their right mind would pay to watch someone play?
What is this world coming to? I breathed a collective sigh of exasperation for all woman-kind.
YouTube Creators
But apparently, people do pay to watch. Take, for example, PewDiePie, a Swedish gamer. With over 90 million followers, he earned $15.5 million playing video games online in 2018.
Along the same token, making an estimated $11.2 million is Daniel Middleton –known as The DiamondMinecart (TDM) –who created a kid-friendly Minecraft YouTube channel. The channel is so family-friendly that sometimes Daniel’s wife, Jemma, plays along in videos.
Don’t despair if you’re not a video game guru; YouTube doesn’t discriminate. A case in point is Jeffree Star, a drag queen and makeup mogul who earned $18 million via makeup videos and tutorials in 2018.
Using his YouTube success as a springboard, he launched Jeffree Star Cosmetics. According to Forbes, he brings in an estimated $100 million in revenue annually.
Moving on to what is perhaps the most mind-boggling of them all, Ryan Kaji. In 2018, he was the highest-paid YouTube star in 2018, hauling in $22 million with his videos.
Interestingly, Ryan is only seven years old and reviews toys on his channel, which is called Ryan ToysReview. He has more than 21 million subscribers with more than 31 billion views. What were you doing at seven years old?
These YouTube millionaires above represent the exception — not the rule. But there’s no reason you can’t try!
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YouTube TV
YouTube TV has been wildly successful as of late. Last year, they claimed to have over 2 million subscribers. Good for a streaming TV service that launched in February 2017. As of today, you can get all your favorite networks and local stations. This is a big competitor to Dish’s “Sling TV” and threatens to take more of their subscribers.
The ad revenue from this service is nothing to sneeze at…15 billion in 2019 alone! You can see where YouTube TV is headed by looking at the strong numbers from YouTube Music and YouTube Premium (ad-free), which are 20 million subs.
Final Thoughts: YouTube Stock
YouTube TV has been wildly successful as of late. Last year, they claimed to have over 2 million subscribers. Good for a streaming TV service that launched in February 2017. As of today, you can get all your favorite networks and local stations. This is a big competitor to Dish’s “Sling TV” and threatens to take more of their subscribers.
The ad revenue from this service is nothing to sneeze at…15 billion in 2019 alone! You can see where YouTube TV is headed by looking at the strong numbers from YouTube Music and YouTube Premium (ad-free), which are 20 million subs.
YouTube stock may not be readily available to invest in, but remember the days when most jobs entailed sitting in a cubicle from 9-5, working for “the man?” I’m delighted to say those days are long gone, and there are endless ways to earn money online.
You can start a YouTube channel and learn to monetize it, but you can also try your hand at live trading. We’ll show you a new way to earn money and accelerate your wealth. All you need to do is be willing to put in the work. Be sure to check us out on YouTube, where we go live daily!
Frequently Asked Questions
Google acquired YouTube on October 9, 2006 for 1.64 billion. Investors can purchase their stock under the symbol $GOOGL.
Google owns YouTube. Investors can purchase their stock under the symbol GOOGL on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Google is a publicly-traded company that trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol $GOOGL.
