Robinhood added to S&P 500 with AppLovin, stocks surge 7%

Shares of Robinhood and AppLovin jumped nearly 7% on Friday evening after S&P Global confirmed both companies will officially join the S&P 500 index before the market opens on Monday, September 22.

This information came straight from S&P Global’s index committee, which announced the change in a public statement released after trading hours. Robinhood will replace Caesars Entertainment, while AppLovin is set to take over the slot currently held by MarketAxess Holdings.

This reshuffling is part of the index’s regular update cycle. When companies drop out, fund managers tracking the S&P 500 are forced to buy the replacements. That’s why both stocks rallied in after-hours trading. Fund-driven buying happens automatically, no emotions involved.

The announcement closed a frustrating chapter for both firms. Robinhood, which was left out of the June quarterly rebalancing, saw its stock slide 2% at the time.

AppLovin, meanwhile, had its name dragged through mud by Fuzzy Panda Research, a short seller that asked S&P’s committee in March to block the company from entering the index.

When AppLovin was passed over in December in favor of Workday, its shares sank 15%. But both companies hung around long enough to get picked this time.

AppLovin replaces MarketAxess while Robinhood takes Caesars’ place

Robinhood, the commission-free trading platform, launched on the Nasdaq in 2021. It quickly gained a loyal base of retail traders who pushed meme stocks like AMC Entertainment and GameStop into the headlines.

At its annual general meeting in June, a shareholder asked Vlad Tenev, Robinhood’s co-founder and CEO, if getting listed on the S&P 500 was part of the plan. “It’s a difficult thing to plan for,” Vlad replied. “I think it’s one of those things that hopefully happens.” He added that he believed the company was eligible.

It did happen. And fast.

AppLovin, which also went public in 2021, has had a different journey. Its stock has delivered absurd gains: 278% in 2023, followed by a 700% explosion in 2024.

As of Friday’s close, shares are up another 51% in 2025, though it’s slowed compared to the last two years. The company sells software that plugs into apps and mobile games to deliver targeted ads.

AppLovin didn’t just coast to the top. It made bold moves along the way. Earlier this year, it made an offer to buy the U.S. business of TikTok from ByteDance, the Chinese parent company. The sale is still pending.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly extended the sale deadline, with the most recent extension happening in June.

Datadog and DoorDash joined earlier while Caesars and MarketAxess exit

The S&P 500 already leans heavily toward large tech names. Datadog and DoorDash were both added earlier this year, pushing the index deeper into the software and data services world.

The entry of Robinhood and AppLovin just keeps that trend rolling. It’s not random. Companies that are growing fast, pulling in volume, and making noise usually end up on the committee’s radar sooner or later.

That’s bad news for MarketAxess and Caesars. The two companies are out, and they’ve been under pressure for months. MarketAxess, which focuses on fixed-income trading, has seen its shares fall 17% year-to-date.

Caesars, the casino and resort chain, is down 21% in the same stretch. Neither company has posted the kind of growth or investor interest needed to hold onto a place in the large-cap index.

Inclusion in the S&P 500 isn’t just symbolic, as funds that mirror the index must buy the incoming names. That’s why AppLovin and Robinhood rallied within minutes of the news breaking. It’s automatic.

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