AppLovin and Robinhood Join the S&P 500 Index

On Friday, it was reported that the advertising tech firm AppLovin and the stock trading platform Robinhood each saw a rise of approximately 7% in after-hours trading. This came after S&P Global disclosed that both companies are set to be included in the prestigious S&P 500 index.

According to the announcement from S&P Global, these changes will be implemented prior to the market opening on September 22. In this reshuffle, AppLovin will assume the position previously held by another company, while Robinhood will fill a different spot.

Back in March, there was a notable pushback from the short-seller group Fuzzy Panda Research, urging that AppLovin should not be added to the major U.S. index. Following this opposition, AppLovin's stock value fell by 15% in December when Workday was chosen instead to join the S&P 500. Robinhood experienced a similar setback in June when it was omitted from a scheduled quarterly index rebalancing.

Such developments are not uncommon, as stock prices typically climb upon the news of inclusion in a renowned index like the S&P 500. This triggers fund managers to purchase stocks to rebalance their portfolios accordingly.

Having both gone public on Nasdaq in 2021, Robinhood has garnered significant attention from individual investors, particularly those interested in meme stocks, which have seen sharp increases in share price. AppLovin has also attracted interest due to its impressive stock performance, boasting a rise of 278% in 2023 and surpassing 700% growth in 2024. It specializes in providing targeted advertising solutions for mobile applications and games.

Earlier in the year, AppLovin made headlines with an unsolicited proposal to purchase TikTok. This development coincided with deadlines set by then-President Donald Trump, which have been extended multiple times, with the latest extension happening in June.