Alphabet

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Google’s parent company, Alphabet, faced major challenges in 2020. It was attacked for pushing out two A.I. researchers and got hammered during congressional hearings, and it suffered its first-ever slowdown in advertising revenue. Despite all that, it ended the year with record fourth-quarter sales, after its ad business rebounded from a coronavirus-related lull. Alphabet also benefited from YouTube’s rapid growth, and it invested big money in its cloud business. The company wrapped up 2020 with $182.5 billion in revenue, up 13% year over year, and more than $40 billion in profit. But 2021 hasn’t been easy either. Alphabet still faces federal and state antitrust lawsuits, pressure from a newly formed employee union, and scrutiny over problematic content disseminated on YouTube.