AppLovin and Robinhood stocks jumped Friday night after S&P Global announced that the two companies will join the S&P 500 index later this month.
The advertising tech company AppLovin and stock-trading platform Robinhood Markets each rose around 7% in late trading after the news. Their inclusion will take effect prior to the start of trading on Sept. 22, according to an announcement by S&P Global.
AppLovin will replace MarketAxess Holdings, and Robinhood will replace Caesars Entertainment. Both companies have been down this year, with MarketAxess off 17% and Caesars down 21% year to date.
The S&P 500 has already welcomed several technology-driven companies, including Datadog and DoorDash, earlier in 2025. The index is still tilted heavily toward tech, reflecting persistent investor demand for high-growth companies.
This is a milestone for both AppLovin and Robinhood, both of which listed on Nasdaq in 2021. Robinhood was a favorite with retail traders almost immediately, especially during the meme-stock mania over AMC Entertainment and GameStop. AppLovin, however, has established itself as a star performer, with its mobile advertising software driving gigantic stock returns, 278% higher in 2023 and more than 700% higher in 2024. Through Friday’s close, the stock of AppLovin was 51% higher in 2025.
Membership in the S&P 500 tends to be a catalyst for stock gains since index funds are obligated to purchase shares to replicate the benchmark. The phenomenon was true Friday as both companies jumped shortly after the announcement.
Earlier this year, AppLovin made news when it bid to buy TikTok’s U.S. business from ByteDance in the face of continued political pressure. Former President Donald Trump extended the deadline to sell in June, leaving the future of the deal in doubt.
Robinhood, on the other hand, has been questioned by investors as to whether it would be eligible for the S&P 500. During the firm’s annual general meeting held in June, co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev stated that the milestone was difficult to anticipate but he had faith in the company’s eligibility.
“It’s a tough thing to plan for,” Tenev replied then. “I think it’s one of those things that hopefully happens.”
With S&P Global’s recent announcement, that hope has now turned to reality, securing AppLovin and Robinhood’s spots among America’s most powerful public companies.
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