Avishek Das | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Shares of advertising technology company AppLovin<\/a> and stock trading app Robinhood Markets<\/a> each jumped about 7% in extended trading on Friday after S&P Global said the two will join the S&P 500 index.<\/p>\n The changes will go into effect before the beginning of trading on Sept. 22, S&P Global announced in a statement. AppLovin will replace MarketAxess Holdings<\/a>, while Robinhood will take the place of Caesars Entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n In March, short-seller Fuzzy Panda Research advised the committee<\/a> for the large-cap U.S. index to keep AppLovin from becoming a constituent. AppLovin shares dropped 15% in December, when the committee picked Workday to join the S&P 500. Robinhood, for its part, saw shares slip 2%<\/a> in June when it was excluded from a quarterly rebalancing of the index.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 already has a heavy concentration on large technology companies. Datadog<\/a> and DoorDash<\/a> entered earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n It’s normal for stocks to go up on news of their inclusion of a major index such as the S&P 500. Fund managers need to buy shares to reflect the updates.<\/p>\n AppLovin and Robinhood both went public on Nasdaq in 2021. Robinhood has been a favorite among retail investors who have bid up shares of meme stocks such as AMC Entertainment<\/a> and GameStop<\/a>. AppLovin itself became a stock to watch, with shares gaining 278% in 2023 and over 700% in 2024. As of Friday’s close, the stock had gained only 51% so far in 2025. AppLovin’s software brings targeted ads to mobile apps and games.<\/p>\n