$1tn is just the start: why tech giants could double their market valuations

Alphabet, the tech giant formerly known as Google, on Thursday night became the fourth company in history to reach a trillion-dollar (£776bn) valuation. In less than 24 hours, some analysts were predicting that the company, founded in a messy Silicon Valley garage 21 years ago, could double in value again to become a $2tn firm "in the near future". The consensus among Wall Street bankers is nothing can stop the runaway share price rises of Alphabet or the other so-called "Faang" tech companies. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google have seen their combined market value increase by $1.3tn over the past year – that's the equivalent of adding half the value of all the companies in the FTSE 100, or the entire GDP of Mexico. "It's such a phenomenally large number that it's difficult for most of us even to quantify the value," said Paul Lee, the global head of technology research at Deloitte.