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It's now been over a year since Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL conducted its stock-split and implemented a triple-class share structure. Last year, the company further consolidated voting power among the triumvirate that is Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt by creating Class C shares that get no voting rights.

These shares are the ones that currently trade under the ticker symbol GOOG, while the Class A shares that trade under the ticker symbol GOOGL are entitled to 1 vote per share. Class A shares and Class C shares have the exact same economic and ownership rights entitled to them. The only difference between the two classes is a single vote. Now that things have settled down following the split, investors have a little bit more data to analyze.

A tale of two share classes Since both A and C shares have the same economic value, both expectedly trade in lockstep of each other. Both shares trade with comparable volume and liquidity both trade an average of 2. They rise and fall together, through the best of times and the worst of times. GOOG data by YCharts.

GOOG and GOOGL have a price difference of about $ As a retail investor if you wanted to invest in Google, is there any reason to buy GOOGL over GOOG? : investing

Without a doubt, a vote at Alphabet does have some value, and we can now get an idea of how much: But is it worth it? Now we arrive at the real question that matters to investors: Sure, any shareholder that held shares going into the split would have received one of each share class, but prospective investors that are considering buying shares will likely choose between one or the other. Without getting into whether or not Alphabet is a buy or not right now, let's say that you've already done the legwork and decided that you want to invest in the search giant turned holding company.

In that case, the cheaper Class C shares are the way to go. The lower price gives investors a slight discount to access the exact same earnings power. Voting is futile Call me a skeptic, but I generally don't believe it's really worth it for individual investors to vote their shares. That's because large institutional investors that have much larger positions will often do so on behalf of their own investors, since instructional players will have more expertise and sway to potentially enact change if needed.

This is a broader trend. That's all generally speaking. Back to Alphabet, specifically, there's even less point in voting shares.

Google's 'evil' stock split - The Buzz - Investment and Stock Market News

Alphabet isn't necessarily alone in this regard. On top of that, Zuckerberg has proxy voting rights for an additional 6. While Alphabet's control is at least split up among three people, in which case some semblance of consensus is necessary for major strategic decisions, Zuckerberg rules Facebook with an iron fist. Evan Niu, CFA owns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet A shares , Alphabet C shares , and Facebook.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

GOOG or GOOGL: Which Stock Do You Buy? (GOOG, GOOGL) | Investopedia

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Evan is a Senior Technology Specialist at The Motley Fool. He was previously a Senior Trading Specialist at a major discount broker, and worked briefly at Tesla.

Evan graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a CFA charterholder. Skip to main content The Motley Fool Fool.

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GOOG vs. GOOGL: All You Need to Know About the Google Stock Split | InvestorPlace

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