Alphabet, which owns Google, is one of the world’s biggest tech companies. Home Depot is the top dog of home improvement. You might not think these companies have much in common. But both are on the stock market. And both of their stocks have dropped.
A stock is one part (or share) of a company. The stock price of a company depends on what people think the company is worth. If they believe a business is worth more money, its stock price will go up; if they think it’s worth less, the price will go down. Traders buy and sell stocks on the stock market. Each month, News-O-Matic covers two changing stocks. Alphabet and Home Depot both went down in February.
Going Down: Alphabet (Symbol: GOOG)
Google’s stock price had gone up from 2015 to 2021. By the end of 2021, one share was worth almost $150. Google had a bad year in 2022. By February 1, 2023, one share of Alphabet was down to $100. Then the company had a big bump.
ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses to answer questions. Microsoft said its search engine will use ChatGPT. On February 7, Google showed off its own chatbot, Bard. But Bard got a simple question wrong. It said the JWST took the first photos of exoplanets. A different telescope did that in 2004.
After this big mistake, Alphabet’s stock prices dropped. On February 7, one share of the company was worth $108. The next day, it fell to $100. That meant Alphabet’s total worth fell by about $100 million! The company’s stock price continued to fall. It was worth just $90 on March 1.
Going Down: Home Depot (Symbol: HD)
People shop at 2,300 Home Depot stores across North America. That company sells goods to help people fix up their homes. Those goods include new floors and paint. The Home Depot said it had $150 billion in sales in 2021. Its stock price hit $415 in December 2021.
Like Alphabet, Home Depot saw its value slip through 2022. It ended down at $316 in December 2022. In February 2023, the company’s stock was in yet another drop. On February 1, one share of Home Depot cost about $330. But by March 1, it had fallen below $300.
One big reason for the fall was a statement on February 21. Leaders at Home Depot say they’ve seen the demand for goods like flooring and roofing slow down. Because of inflation, Home Depot expects to see demand for other home improvement goods to slow as well. If customers spend more money on everyday items like food and gasoline, they’ll have less money to spend on projects for their home.
Updated March 1, 2023, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Tyler Burdick
