Palantir and Dell among new S&P 500 members as index rebalances


(Bloomberg) — Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR), Dell Technologies Inc (DELL) and Erie Indemnity Co. (ERIE) will join the S&P 500 as part of its latest quarterly weighting change.

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The companies will replace American Airlines Group Inc., Etsy Inc. and Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., according to a press release from S&P Dow Jones Indices issued Friday. The changes will take effect before the opening of trading on Sept. 23.

The additions of Palantir and Dell reflect how technology companies, and particularly those related to artificial intelligence, are reshaping the market. Palantir, the data analytics software company co-founded by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, has grown from serving the U.S. intelligence community to working with dozens of government agencies and, more recently, expanding its commercial business.

Shares of the Denver-based company have risen more than 75% this year as investors bet the software and surveillance firm will benefit from rising demand for its artificial intelligence tools. The stock rose as much as 8.4% in after-hours trading on Friday.

Dell, the Round Rock, Texas-based company best known for its personal computers and monitors, reported better-than-expected revenue last week as a result of a surge in sales of servers designed to handle AI workloads.

Shares of the hardware giant rose as much as 8.7% after the opening bell, while insurance company Erie Indemnity rose as much as 5.5%.

Companies must have a market capitalization of at least $18 billion and meet profitability, liquidity and share float standards to qualify for the S&P 500, according to the August methodology.

Meanwhile, American Airlines’ removal from the U.S. stock benchmark highlights the challenges the industry has faced of late, including delays in aircraft deliveries and rising labor costs. The airline cut its profit outlook in July after domestic demand expectations proved too optimistic. Its shares fell 0.8% on Friday after the market opened, adding to a 21% drop so far this year.

Inclusion in the US equity benchmark can raise a company’s profile and is becoming increasingly important as passive investment funds grow. Exclusion from the benchmark can impact share prices as index funds sell shares to realign them with the new composition of the S&P 500.

Coming in June: KKR, CrowdStrike and GoDaddy to join S&P 500 as index rebalances

—With the help of Isabelle Lee.

(Updated with additional details)

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