S&P 500 Shakeup: AppLovin and Robinhood Soar In, MicroStrategy Gets the Boot

Wall Street's elite index just reshuffled the deck—and crypto's favorite proxy play got dealt out cold.

Fresh Blood, Old Rules

The S&P 500 committee waved in AppLovin and Robinhood, betting big on mobile tech and retail trading momentum. Meanwhile, Emcor's industrial backbone secured its spot—proving sometimes boring still works.

MicroStrategy's Crypto Bet Backfires

Michael Saylor's Bitcoin-heavy strategy finally hit a wall with index gatekeepers. The company's massive BTC holdings—once hailed as genius—weren't enough to outweigh volatility concerns. Because nothing says 'reliable index component' like swinging 20% on Elon Musk tweets.

Index purists maintain their usual poker faces while quietly enjoying the irony: a trad-fi benchmark excluding a firm for being too crypto... in 2025. Guess even Wall Street's FOMO has limits.

Committee Discretion Shapes Index Composition

Despite meeting all requirements for inclusion, MicroStrategy was not selected. Balchunas explained: “Why wasn’t $MSTR allowed into the S&P 500 Index despite meeting all the criteria? Because the ‘Committee’ said no. You have to realize SPX is essentially an active fund run by a secret committee.” This highlights the discretionary nature of the S&P 500, where eligibility alone does not guarantee entry.

Why wasn't $MSTR allowed into the S&P 500 Index despite meeting all the criteria? Because the 'Committee' said no. You have to realize SPX is essentially an active fund run by a secret committee. We intv'd the dude who used to run this committee on Trillions. Check it out. pic.twitter.com/w334JrX9VO

Quarterly Rebalancing Update

The S&P 500’s quarterly rebalancing aims to ensure that the index continues to represent market capitalization and sector balance among large-cap U.S. equities. 

Applovin (Nasdaq: APP), Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD), and Emcor Group (NYSE: EME) will join the S&P 500 before markets open on September 22, replacing MarketAxess, Caesars, and Enphase. This shows the committee is keeping the index updated with current market trends.

MicroStrategy being left out has caught the attention of investors and analysts, especially because of its crypto holdings. While Robinhood, Applovin, and Emcor are added to balance the sectors, MicroStrategy’s exclusion proves that even if a company meets all the rules, the committee can still decide not to include it.

Also Read: Coinbase Adds 9 New Assets as Collateral for Perpetual Futures