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The S&P 500 includes 500 companies, but there are 503 stocks because some companies, like Alphabet, have different shares. The top 10 biggest holdings are on the official S&P Global website. A company must meet certain requirements to be part of the S&P 500.
S&P doesn’t offer the full list of S&P 500 holdings for free. But if you subscribe to S&P’s research unit, Capital IQ, you can see the whole list. The companies in the S&P 500 are leaders in their industries and give an idea of the state of the U.S. economy.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The S&P 500 includes leading companies in various industries, measuring the U.S. economy’s health.
- Before being added to the S&P, companies must meet specific requirements set by the index publishers.
- The S&P 500 index gives more weight to companies with bigger market values.
- For a stock to be part of the S&P 500, it must meet specific requirements, such as having a total market value of at least $14.5 billion.
- Companies might get taken out of the S&P 500 if they significantly fall short of these requirements.
S&P 500 Inclusion Criteria
The S&P 500 was established in 1957 and is one of the most popular stock market indexes. It includes publicly traded stocks from the biggest U.S. companies. The index mainly looks at large-cap companies in the U.S. market.
To be included in the S&P 500, a company needs to meet various requirements, such as:
- A company must have a market value of at least $14.5 billion to be part of the S&P 500.
- The company must be based in the United States to be included in the S&P 500.
- The company’s float-adjusted liquidity ratio (FALR) must be 0.75 or higher to qualify.
- The company’s earnings over the last four quarters must be positive to meet the requirement.
- The company must have made a profit in its latest quarter to meet the requirement.
- The company must fulfill specific liquidity standards to qualify.
Companies might get taken out of the S&P 500 if they significantly fall short of these requirements.
$39.7 Trillion
As of August 31, 2023, the total value of all the companies in the S&P 500 index was calculated by adding together the market values of its 503 constituents.
S&P 500 Calculation
The S&P 500 is an index that calculates its value based on the market value of companies’ freely available shares. Market capitalization shows a company’s total worth. To find the market cap, multiply the outstanding shares by the current stock price. For instance, if a company has 20 million shares and each share is worth $100, its market cap would be $2 billion.
When a company’s stock value increases, it adds more to the S&P 500’s overall performance. Around 50 to 75 stocks in the index are responsible for three-quarters of its return.
Adding or removing smaller companies from the index doesn’t affect the overall performance much. But adding or removing one of the biggest stocks can make a big difference.
S&P 500 Sector Breakdown
Here are the main sectors and their importance in the S&P 500 index as of August 31, 2023.
S&P 500 Sector Weighting
| Sector | Index Weighting |
|---|---|
| Information Technology | 28.2% |
| Healthcare | 13.2% |
| Financials | 12.5% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 10.6% |
| Communication Services | 8.8% |
| Industrials | 8.4% |
| Consumer Staples | 6.6% |
| Energy | 4.4% |
| Materials | 2.5% |
| Real Estate | 2.4% |
| Utilities | 2.4% |
Understanding the sector weightings in the S&P 500 is crucial because sectors with less weight might not affect the overall index value much, even if they’re doing better or worse than the market.
For instance, if oil prices go up and energy companies make more money, but they only make up 4.4% of the S&P 500, their success might not boost the overall index if, let’s say, the larger technology sector is not doing well.
Important: The S&P 500 index values companies based on their free-float market capitalization. This means that bigger companies have a greater impact on the index’s overall value.
Top 25 Components by Market Cap
Since the S&P doesn’t provide the exact weightings of its top 25 components, the following are based on the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY). SPY is the oldest exchange-traded fund (ETF) that follows the S&P 500. As of September 20, 2023, it manages assets worth $406.6 billion and is traded frequently.
So, using the SPY’s portfolio weightings is a reliable way to invest in the S&P 500 index, even though they might differ. As of September 21, 2023, here are the 25 biggest companies in the S&P 500 index by weight:
- Apple (AAPL): 7.05%
- Microsoft (MSFT): 6.54%
- Amazon (AMZN): 3.24%
- NVIDIA (NVDA): 2.79%
- Alphabet Class A (GOOGL): 2.13%
- Tesla (TSLA): 1.95%
- Alphabet Class C (GOOG): 1.83%
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B): 1.83%
- Meta (META), formerly Facebook, Class A: 1.81%
- UnitedHealth Group (UNH): 1.28%
- Exxon Mobil (XOM): 1.27%
- Eli Lilly (LLY): 1.21%
- JPMorgan Chase (JPM): 1.18%
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): 1.07%
- Visa Class A (V): 1.05%
- Procter & Gamble (PG): 0.99%
- Mastercard Class A (MA): 0.93%
- Broadcom (AVGO): 0.92%
- Home Depot (HD): 0.85%
- Chevron Corporation (CVX): 0.81%
- Merck (MRK): 0.75%
- AbbVie (ABBV): 0.75%
- Costco (COST): 0.67%
- PepsiCo (PEP): 0.67%
- Adobe (ADBE): 0.65%
What Are the Top 10 Holdings in the S&P 500 Now?
- Apple Inc. (AAPL)
- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
- Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
- NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA)
- Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL)
- Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG)
- Tesla Inc. (TSLA)
- Meta Platforms Inc. (META), formerly Facebook, Class A
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B)
- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)
How Many Companies Are in the S&P 500?
While the S&P 500 typically includes 500 companies, this number has increased. As of August 31, 2023, there were 503 stocks in the index. This is because certain companies, like Alphabet, have different types of shares.
How Are Companies Selected for the S&P 500?
A company must meet certain requirements for inclusion in the S&P 500, which include:
- A market value of at least $14.5 billion
- The company must be based in the United States.
- The company’s float-adjusted liquidity ratio (FALR) needs to be 0.75 or higher.
- The company must have profited over the last four quarters when adding earnings.
- The company needs to have made a profit in its latest quarterly report.
- Requirements related to cash availability and financial stability.
How to Buy the S&P 500?
You can’t buy the S&P 500 directly because it’s an index, but you can invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that follow it, like the State Street Global Advisors’ SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY).
The Bottom Line
The top 25 companies in the S&P 500 are among the most famous worldwide, with many of the top 10 being tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Investors can buy the stocks of these companies individually or invest in a fund that follows the S&P 500 to invest in them.
The information, opinions, and analyses on Investopedia are provided for online informational purposes only. For further details, be sure to read our warranty and liability disclaimer.
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