Insider Trading March 7, 2026

Sundar Pichai Disposes $9.8M of Alphabet Class C Shares, Retains Significant Holdings

Sale executed under a 10b5-1 plan as Alphabet advances AI models and other industry developments unfold

By Leila Farooq GOOGL
Sundar Pichai Disposes $9.8M of Alphabet Class C Shares, Retains Significant Holdings
GOOGL

Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai completed $9.8 million in Class C stock sales on March 4, 2026, while acquiring zero-valued Google Stock Units and maintaining substantial direct and indirect holdings. The trades were carried out under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted in December 2024. The filings coincide with corporate updates on executive pay and several tech-industry developments, including new AI model releases and major investment announcements.

Key Points

  • Sundar Pichai sold 32,500 shares of Alphabet Class C Capital Stock on March 4, 2026, totaling $9.8 million at prices between $301.57 and $305.14.
  • Pichai acquired 265,001 Class C Google Stock Units valued at $0 and continues to hold substantial direct and indirect stakes in both Class C and Class A shares.
  • The sales were executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted December 2, 2024; concurrent industry developments include AI model releases, major AI investment announcements, and supply commitments for high-power lasers.

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai sold a block of Class C Capital Stock totaling $9.8 million on March 4, 2026, according to a recent Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The filing shows Pichai executed the sales through a sequence of transactions that amounted to 32,500 shares of Class C Capital Stock. The disposition occurred at prices between $301.57 and $305.14 per share - modestly above the referenced trading price of $298.52. Alphabet’s shares have returned 72% over the trailing 12 months.

In the same filing, Pichai is recorded as having acquired 265,001 shares of Class C Google Stock Units that carry a stated value of $0.

Following these moves, Pichai’s reported holdings include 1,674,560 shares of Alphabet Class C Capital Stock held directly. He also reports indirect ownership of 555,732 Class C shares through the Sundararajan Pichai 2026 Annuity Trust and another 555,732 shares through the Anjali Pichai 2026 Annuity Trust. Additionally, the filing lists direct ownership of 227,560 shares of Class A Common Stock.

The sales were carried out pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement that Pichai adopted on December 2, 2024, the Form 4 indicates.


Separately, the company announced that Pichai’s annual base salary will remain at $2,000,000, with no change to that amount since 2020.

The filing and executive-pay update arrive amid a stream of industry developments noted in the same disclosure period:

  • Lumentum Holdings Inc. received an upgraded price target from Needham after Nvidia Corp. made a new purchase commitment for high-power lasers. That commitment supplements multi-hundred million dollar orders referenced on Lumentum’s recent earnings call, with deliveries expected between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first half of 2027.
  • Google’s AI roadmap. Google has made available its latest model, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, to developers and enterprises. The model is described as faster and more cost-efficient, delivering a 2.5 times faster response and a 45% increase in output speed relative to its predecessor.
  • Waymo investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board is probing incidents in which Waymo self-driving vehicles are alleged to have violated Texas law by passing stopped school buses.
  • Amazon and OpenAI. Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI; the disclosure notes Amazon shares experienced a slight premarket decline following the announcement.

These items were reported alongside the insider transaction disclosures and executive-pay information. Collectively, they underscore ongoing activity across artificial intelligence, optical components for data centers and high-performance computing, and autonomous vehicle testing — areas that intersect with Alphabet’s product and research priorities.


All transaction details and holdings are reported in the SEC Form 4 filing referenced above. The filing attributes the executed sales to the 10b5-1 trading plan adopted by Pichai on December 2, 2024.

Risks

  • Insider sales executed under a pre-established 10b5-1 plan can still be perceived by markets as reducing insider exposure, which may influence investor sentiment in the technology sector.
  • Deliverables tied to large equipment orders, such as the multi-hundred million dollar laser commitments referenced for Lumentum, carry execution and timing risk that affect suppliers in the semiconductor and optics supply chains.
  • Regulatory and safety investigations into autonomous vehicle behavior, such as the NTSB probe of Waymo incidents in Texas, create uncertainty for stakeholders in the autonomous driving and broader mobility markets.

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