The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500)

The Standard & Poor’s 500, or S&P 500, is a float-adjusted, capitalization-weighted index comprising 500 large-cap U.S. companies listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ.

• Established in 1957, the S&P 500 is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices.

• It is a free-float weighted, capitalization-weighted index.

• The S&P 500 covers approximately 80% of the available U.S. market capitalization.

• Companies included in the index are publicly listed on either the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.

• As of mid-2021, the nine largest companies accounted for 28.1% of the total market capitalization.

• A committee selects the companies included in the S&P 500 based on specific requirements (listed below).

• Related indices include the S&P Global 100, S&P Global 1200, S&P International 700, and the S&P/TSX 60 Index.

• Common ticker symbols are $SPX, US500, GSPC, and INX.

The Short-History of S&P 500

In 1923, the Standard Statistics Company began rating mortgage bonds. Later, in 1926, they created a 90-stock index. In 1941, Standard Statistics merged with Poor’s Publishing to form Standard & Poor’s.

• On March 4, 1957, the index was renamed the S&P 500 Stock Composite Index, expanding to track 500 companies.

• On April 21, 1982, the CME began trading futures based on the S&P 500.

• On July 1, 1983, the CME started trading options based on the S&P 500.

Chart: S&P 500 yearly chart

S&P 500 Composition

Criteria/Requirements for Inclusion in the S&P 500 Index

• The company must be based in the United States.

• It must be publicly listed on either the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.

• The market capitalization should exceed 14.6 billion USD.

• The minimum average monthly trading volume must be more than 250,000 shares.

• The annual dollar value traded, based on float-adjusted market capitalization, should be greater than 1.0 (unit implied).

• Since 2017, companies with dual share classes are not eligible for inclusion in the index.

Top-25 S&P 500 Components

This is a list of the 25 largest companies listed in the S&P 500.

The S&P 500

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