S&P Dow Jones Indices will keep its existing eligibility requirements for benchmarks including the S&P 500, rejecting a rule change that could have allowed newly public megacap companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic to enter the index faster.
S&P said Thursday it will not grant exceptions to its financial viability, seasoning, and investable weight factor requirements solely based on market capitalization. The decision keeps the S&P 500’s stricter framework in place even as rival index providers move to accelerate inclusion for large listings.
The ruling means SpaceX would not be eligible for S&P 500 inclusion until at least one year after its listing. The company would also need to satisfy the benchmark’s profitability and public float requirements before joining the world’s most heavily tracked stock index.
For SpaceX, the setback removes a potential wall of forced buying from funds that track the S&P 500. Fast inclusion would have generated about $14 billion in passive demand for SpaceX, more than $8 billion for OpenAI, and about $4.6 billion for Anthropic, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates.
The decision comes as SpaceX prepares what could become the largest IPO in history. Reuters reported that the company is seeking to raise $75 billion at a $1.75 trillion valuation, a level that would place it among the largest US listed companies immediately after going public.
