YouTube stock isn’t a thing, but if it was, it would be big. Really big. The fact is, it’s the most popular video streaming platform on the planet since it’s launch in 2005. And the price of Google’s stock reflects just that! That’s right. YouTube is owned by Google, so if you’re looking to get in on the success, look no further than the worlds most successful search engine.
Can you believe its been 15 years since it’s 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, which is insane.
Table of Contents
Is There a YouTube Stock?
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. So in essence, 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. Check out the research report as of April 21st via StockRover:
GOOGL Stock Rover Report 5/23.
These reports can only be received via StockRover. Keep in mind this report may be out of date and check SR for an updated report!
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?
A Little Bit of YouTube Stock History
Started by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley, YouTube has now 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 both the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident as well as the tsunami in December. Thanks to Sequoia Capitals’ investment of $11.5 million in 2005, YouTube was launched and registered in the headquarters above a pizzeria in California.
Fast-forward to April and the first-ever video, named “Me at the Zoo,” was uploaded. Just eight months later, a Nike ($NKE) commercial became the first video to receive one million views.
In their attempt to keep up with the times, the YouTube website received a massive overhaul towards the end of 2011. And only one year later, Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ was the first video ever 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.
YouTube Stock: A 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 each day, over 1.3 billion people use the site, and 300 hours of video are uploaded each and every minute.
To put it another way, you’d need around 82 years to watch all the new content uploaded to YouTube in just a single day. Wow.
Who Owns YouTube?!
Google! In 2006, YouTube was bought by Google for $1.65 billion in stock. At that time, it was Google’s second-largest acquisition.
Google clearly thought they were on to something good and judging by the immediate success of YouTube; they were right. For many, this is thought to have kick started YouTube’s rise to fame, and I agree.
In fact, Google acquired YouTube as a way to combine their search and organization competencies with YouTube’s expansive video library. All things considered, this was a brilliant move on Google’s part. The investment has turned out to be one of the best ones ever made by the internet search engine giant.
How to Get a Piece of the YouTube Action
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’s 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. Not to mention that with revenues of over $90 billion, Google is one of the biggest companies on the exchange. You’ll hear them mentioned as part of the FAANG group too 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.
How in the Heck Can I Afford to Buy 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 most certainly don’t have $1200 laying around 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.
For a more detailed explanation of how you can buy options contracts, check out our options course.
Since You Can't Buy It, Make It!
Despite the fact that 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 think 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 –Daniel is so known as The DiamondMinecart (TDM) –, creating s 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. Case in point, Jeffree Star, a drag queen and makeup mogul who earned $18 million via makeup videos and tutorials in 2018.
Using his YouTube success to springboard from, he launched Jeffree Star Cosmetics. According to Forbes, he brings in an estimated $100 million in revenue per year.
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.
What’s interesting is that 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?
Obviously, these YouTube millionaires above represent the exception — not the rule. But, there’s no reason you can’t try!
GOOGL TipRanks Report 5/23.
YouTube
YouTube TV has been wildly successful as of late. Last year they claimed to have over 2 million subscribers. Not bad 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! When you look at the already strong numbers from YouTube Music and YouTube Premium (ad free) , coming in at 20 million subs, you can see where YouTube TV is headed.
Where to Go From Here?
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 is an endless number of ways to earn money online.
You can start a YouTube channel and learn to monetize it for sure, 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 every day!
