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Stockholders' Equity
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Equity [Abstract]  
Stockholders' Equity Stockholders' Equity
Preferred Stock
Our Board of Directors has authorized 100 million shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value, issuable in series. As of December 31, 2020 and 2021, no shares were issued or outstanding.
Class A and Class B Common Stock and Class C Capital Stock
Our Board of Directors has authorized three classes of stock, Class A and Class B common stock, and Class C capital stock. The rights of the holders of each class of our common and capital stock are identical, except with respect to voting. Each share of Class A common stock is entitled to one vote per share. Each share of Class B common stock is entitled to 10 votes per share. Class C capital stock has no voting rights, except as required by applicable law. Shares of Class B common stock may be converted at any time at the option of the stockholder and automatically convert upon sale or transfer to Class A common stock.
Share Repurchases
In April 2021, the Board of Directors of Alphabet authorized the company to repurchase up to $50.0 billion of its Class C stock. In July 2021, the Alphabet board approved an amendment to the April 2021 authorization, permitting the company to repurchase both Class A and Class C shares in a manner deemed in the best interest of the company and its stockholders, taking into account the economic cost and prevailing market conditions, including the relative trading prices and volumes of the Class A and Class C shares. As of December 31, 2021, $17.4 billion remains available for Class A and Class C share repurchases under the amended authorization.
In accordance with the authorizations of the Board of Directors of Alphabet, during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2021, we repurchased and subsequently retired 21.5 million and 20.3 million aggregate shares for $31.1 billion and $50.3 billion, respectively. Of the aggregate amount repurchased and subsequently retired during 2021, 1.2 million shares were Class A stock for $3.4 billion.
Stock Split Effected in Form of Stock Dividend (“Stock Split”)
On February 1, 2022, the Company announced that the Board of Directors had approved and declared a 20-for-one stock split in the form of a one-time special stock dividend on each share of the Company’s Class A, Class B, and Class C stock. The Stock Split is subject to stockholder approval of an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of Class A, Class B, and Class C stock to accommodate the Stock Split.
If approval is obtained, each of the Company’s stockholders of record at the close of business on July 1, 2022 (the “Record Date”), will receive, after the close of business on July 15, 2022, a dividend of 19 additional shares of the same class of stock for every share held by such stockholder as of the Record Date.