Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has finally let the air out of one of its moon shots. In a blog post this week, Alphabet announced it was winding down Loon, saying that the path to commercial viability "is longer and riskier than hoped." Alphabet's ambitious project to provide wireless connectivity to rural areas using a network of high-altitude balloon satellites was one of the higher-visibility projects in its "other bets" portfolio. Shutting down the venture is proof that the company is getting serious about controlling costs. Don't look for any of Alphabet's Loon high-altitude balloon satellites anymore. Image source: Getty Images Many on Wall Street will applaud Alphabet's decision. Analysts have pushed for Alphabet to constrain spending, particularly outside of its core search and advertising businesses, noting that it has lost billions on these noncore ventures to date. The decision to pull the plug on Loon shows the rising power of CFO Ruth Porat. Alphabet lured Porat away from Morgan Stanley in 2015 in part for her reputation of having a disciplined focus on the bottom line. Last year, CEO Sundar Pichai noted the company would begin to apply more financial discipline in the segment, showing management was serious about controlling costs. Shuttering Loon doesn't mean Alphabet is winding down all its moon shots. The company is continuing to invest in its Waymo autonomous car project, its Verily life sciences unit, and its Wing drone aviation project. Investors should embrace Alphabet's approach of continuing to invest in potential life-changing technologies with a more disciplined focus. 10 stocks we like better than Alphabet (A shares)When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Alphabet (A shares) wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of November 20, 2020 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jamal Carnette, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source