Even iconic companies can get dropped from the Dow

GE’s removal marked the end of an era for the Dow

General Electric, the last surviving original Dow component, was dropped in 2018, after years of decline. Its exit symbolized the fading dominance of industrial giants and the index’s shift toward technology and healthcare.

See every company in and out of the Dow since 1928

The index has had 30 companies since 1928. See each company’s tenure on the index and what firms were added or replaced by year and industry.

The Dow now tracks 30 major US companies across various industries

Since 1928, the DJIA has included 30 firms. Today's group spans technology, healthcare, and finance—with Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and Coca-Cola among its most recognized components.

Critics argue the Dow no longer reflects the modern economy

With only 30 companies and a price-weighted formula, skeptics say the DJIA underrepresents vast sectors of the market. They claim it is outdated, though its close correlation with the broader S&P 500 keeps it relevant.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was created in 1896

Charles Dow introduced the DJIA on May 26, 1896, as a simple average of 12 industrial stocks. Although it became the nation’s most enduring market index, none of its original companies remain in the Dow today.

Dow components are chosen by a committee, not a formula

Unlike many indices, the Dow has no strict rules for inclusion. A small committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices uses judgment—favoring companies with strong reputations, steady growth, and broad investor interest.

In 1999, Microsoft and Intel’s addition signaled the information tech era for the Dow

Microsoft and Intel became the first information technology firms added to the DJIA. Their inclusion marked a turning point—the digital revolution and tech began to drive the American economy.

The Dow remains a shorthand for America’s economic health

For over a century, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been one of the most closely watched market barometers. Its rises and falls dominate headlines and politics, shaping how Americans perceive the strength of their economy.

See the 25 largest initial public offerings in US history.

These 25 companies—which include UPS, Uber Technologies, AT&T, and The Kraft Heinz Co.—had some of the biggest IPO drops in US history. However, not all these drops led to long-term (or even immediate) success.

Relive the biggest swings in the Dow’s history

From the 1929 crash to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, this piece spotlights five of the most dramatic single-day moves in the Dow’s 125-year history.

The Dow Divisor keeps the index consistent through time

To adjust for stock splits, mergers, and replacements, the DJIA uses a figure called the Dow Divisor. Originally valued around 12 in 1896, and now less than one, it ensures today’s index levels remain comparable with the past.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a stock market index

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tracks 30 large U.S. companies from all major U.S. sectors except for utilities and transportation. It's considered a bellwether of the U.S. economy.

The Dow’s price-weighted formula makes stock price matter more than size

Unlike most indices, which weigh companies by market value, the DJIA is price-weighted—meaning higher-priced stocks have more influence on its movements. As a result, a company’s share price matters more than its overall size.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average vs. the S&P 500: Which one is a better representation of the economy?

The Dow and S&P 500 are both indexes meant to provide a broad representation of the economy. The Dow has 30 companies and is weighted by share price, while the S&P 500 has 500 different companies weighted by market capitalization. Since the indexes are so different, investors don't always agree on which index is a better representation of the economy—though the two move in the same direction more than 90% of the time.

The Dow Jones & Company began as a small news service in 1882

Founded in 1882 by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser, Dow Jones & Company started with hand-delivered market bulletins. Today it’s a global financial news giant, best known for publishing The Wall Street Journal.

In late 2025, the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 made up more than 40% of the index's total value

This raised concerns for investors about the index's risk exposure. As many large tech companies continued posting record highs, analysts argued that the top-heavy index was becoming less representative of the economy as a whole.

See America's top companies by revenue in 1994 versus 2023—Sears isn't on the 2023 list, while Amazon isn't in the 1994 edition.

Companies sometimes change which stock exchange they're listed on.

A stock index is a group of companies clustered together, often providing a condensed snapshot of a market segment.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' have an outsized impact on the Nasdaq 100's performance

These seven companies are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. They're often responsible for over 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, but the exact percentage varies from year to year.

Walmart was the first traditional retailer to crack the $1T club

In early 2026, the company joined major tech companies Nvidia, Apple, and Meta (among others) as one of the rare firms with a market capitalization beyond $1T. See the latest top companies here.

Before the S&P 500 launched in 1957, Standard and Poor's had a daily index with just 90 companies

Unlike previous indexes from S&P, the S&P 500 could be computed in real time using computer technology that tracked stock tickers across stock exchanges. This innovation is partly what led to 500 companies being listed on the index, a huge increase from the 90 companies in S&P's flagship index when the company had to do all the analysis by hand.

How Standard Oil created Chevron and ExxonMobil

Standard Oil was eventually ordered to separate into 34 different entities, and over the following years, those 34 companies merged into what is now called the “Big Four” in the oil industry.

Many of the top companies in the US by market cap began as tech startups

Combined, the top seven companies by market cap in the US as of December 2024—Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Tesla—were worth more than $16T at the time.

The number of publicly traded companies has decreased in recent years.

In 1996, more than 7,300 companies traded publicly on US stock markets, but that number has recently dropped to 4,300. Economists point to two reasons: First, going public requires full disclosure of operations, exposing it to scrutiny from investors, competitors, and analysts. Second, the IPO process is expensive and time-consuming.

The number of publicly traded companies has decreased significantly

The stock market hit a peak in 1996, when more than 7,000 companies were publicly traded. But in 2024, there were nearly half that many publicly traded companies.

The Nasdaq 100 index tracks the exchange's 100 largest non-financial companies

This index was created in 1985, over a decade after the Nasdaq first launched. The companies on the index must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum average daily trading value of $5M.

The winding journey from Standard Oil to the modern oil industry

Standard Oil’s impact on the business world can be clearly seen today in oil giants like Exxon and Chevron. But the journey from the Rockefellers’ trust to the modern firms was a windy road. After the Supreme Court ordered Standard Oil’s break up, the first step saw it separate into many state-based companies like Standard Oil of California and the Ohio Oil Company. Visualize it here.

The S&P 500 is composed of 500 companies, but has more than 500 total listings

Since some large companies have dual-class stock structures (like Alphabet and Fox Corporation), there are multiple listings on the S&P 500 for the same company. S&P Global has banned and then reversed bans on companies with dual-class structures multiple times since first allowing dual-class stocks in 2014.

The S&P 500, managed by the same company, is another major stock index

Also run by S&P Dow Jones Indices, the S&P 500 tracks 500 large US firms using market-value weighting. Many analysts view it as a more accurate gauge of the American economy.

The world's 50 most valuable private companies

While public companies typically have the highest valuations, private companies get close. This list breaks down the top 50 as of 2025, with SpaceX at the top with a value of $350B, followed by ByteDance. Over three-fifths of the list are located in the US, with eight in China.

S&P Global, the company that makes the S&P 500, is listed on the S&P 500

When the S&P 500 index was released in 1957, it was helpful for investors, but not necessarily profitable. S&P Global now makes more than $1B a year just from selling its index data. Alongside its other services, like credit ratings, S&P Global makes more than $14B a year.

S&P 500 stocks that have increased their dividends for 25 consecutive years are called 'dividend aristocrats'

Dividend aristocrats are considered the best of the best on the S&P 500—all with market capitalizations above $3B, more than $5M in daily trading volume, and consecutive dividend growth for a minimum of 25 years. Some examples of dividend aristocrats are Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Walmart.

The Nasdaq is typically the world's second-largest stock exchange when measured by the total market value of the companies listed on the exchange.

The S&P 500 selection committee has strict rules around adding a company to the index

While the decision to add a company to the index is ultimately up to the selection committee, any prospective company has to meet some criteria to be considered. To join, the company must have been profitable for the last four quarters, must have a market capitalization exceeding $22.7B, and meet certain requirements around tradeable stock availability (or float).

See Berkshire Hathaway's current market cap and cash on hand

Warren Buffett's holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has one of the highest-valued stocks in history due to its collection of successful companies. As of 2024, Berkshire owned companies including Dairy Queen and GEICO.

A stock market timeline

The stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

See which companies folded and which survived the dot-com crash

Companies that primarily used the web as a platform for doing business were more vulnerable than companies that created technology. While hardware and software companies managed to make it to the other side, most e-commerce companies took a brutal beating and share prices plummeted.

The original 'four horsemen' of tech were Intel, Dell, Microsoft, and Cisco

These companies became known as the "four horsemen of tech" for the influence the companies had both on other businesses and investors in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The expansion of internet infrastructure throughout the 1990s and the dot-com bubble lifted these companies to incredible heights.

Some companies like to make their IPO day antics unique.

An article details some of the wildest bell-ringing day stunts in recent history, from Clifford the Big Red Dog ringing the opening bell to one company's employees roasting marshmallows in a campfire on Wall Street as it went public.

Sears failed to evolve in a changing economy

At its peak, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, making elite objects accessible to the middle class. But in 2018, the company officially filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt and losses.

Listen to the methods and strategy of the secretive S&P 500 selection committee

Stocks are added to the S&P 500 by a secret selection committee that meets regularly to assess which companies can remain in the index, which companies need to be added, and which companies no longer meet the criteria. The members of the committee used to be public, but S&P Global decided to keep its members confidential after companies sent packages, letters, and gifts to try to make it into the index.

Find out how companies decide which stock exchange to list on

Tech companies often prefer to list on the tech-focused Nasdaq, whereas more traditional organizations opt for the New York Stock Exchange. Sometimes the choice is made partly based on the services an exchange offers a company.

The Nasdaq Composite index includes all of the companies traded on the exchange

This 3,000+ company index stands in contrast to the Nasdaq 100, which only includes 100 of the most influential non-financial companies traded on the exchange. These are the two most commonly used indices for Nasdaq investments.

See Bloomberg's continuously updated Billionaire Index

This ranking, updated daily, shows a running tally of the world's 500 richest people. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has largely been atop the list, with a net worth of around $723B as of June 2026. Values fluctuate significantly as much of the wealth is tied to equity in companies. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

More than 650 companies went public in the US in 1996

As the dot-com bubble reached its peak, most dot-com companies went public with little proof of being profitable and were often overvalued. In 1999, the Nasdaq's price-to-earnings ratio (a tool used to determine a stock's value that divides its price by earnings) hit 90.2, signaling that many companies were operating at a net loss. Startups promised investors that more time and money would help scale their businesses and become profitable.

See how SpaceX compares to history's other largest IPOs.

In 1965, Warren Buffett took over Berkshire Hathaway, a failing textile company

After buying bulks of its stock, Buffett then flipped Berkshire Hathaway into the most successful and largest holding company in the world, which owns companies like Geico, Duracell, and Fruit of the Loom.

See the world’s largest stock markets in 1900 versus 2023

The US is now home to the world's largest stock market, but that wasn't always the case. This data visualization shows where the largest stock markets in the world were in 1900, then compares that map to the current geographical distribution of stock markets today, based on each country’s percentage share of global market capitalization. See what it looks like by clicking here.

Why some say the S&P 500 has effectively become an AI fund

The S&P 500 is a market-cap-weighted index, which means companies with larger market capitalizations have a larger impact on the index's overall performance. Many of the top companies in the index are currently tech companies—including Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Apple—that all have large investments in artificial intelligence. As a result, some analysts are concerned that the index is overly exposed to risky AI investments.