Catenaa, Saturday, March 07, 2026- Vertiv, Lumentum, Coherent, and EchoStar will join the S&P 500 in the latest quarterly rebalance, S&P Dow Jones Indices said Friday.
The companies will replace Match Group, Molina Healthcare, Lamb Weston Holdings, and Paycom Software before the start of trading on March 23, according to the index provider.
Shares of Molina, down about 55% over the past year, are among the worst performers in the S&P 500 on a percentage basis, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The other stocks set to be removed are also in the red over the same period. Meanwhile, all four additions have posted at least triple-digit gains in the past year, with Lumentum surging more than 800%.
Vertiv makes power, cooling, and other infrastructure used in data centers, while Lumentum supplies optical and photonic technologies used in artificial intelligence, cloud, and communications networks.
Coherent makes photonics and optical components used in AI networks and hyperscale data centers, and EchoStar provides satellite, networking, and wireless connectivity services.
The growth of passive investing has elevated the importance of inclusion in the US equity benchmark, as funds that track the index must buy newly added shares.
Roughly $24 trillion is tied to the S&P 500, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Seyffart and Wendy Soong, meaning index inclusion can potentially unleash billions of dollars of forced buying.
Companies must have a market capitalization of at least $22.7 billion and meet profitability, liquidity, and share-float requirements to qualify for the S&P 500 under February guidelines.
Removal from the benchmark can weigh on a stock, as index funds sell shares to realign with the gauge’s new composition.
In December, CRH, Carvana, and Comfort Systems USA were added to the index, replacing LKQ, Solstice Advanced Materials, and Mohawk Industries.
