AppLovin & Robinhood Join the S&P 500 — What SPY Holders Should Know

S&P Dow Jones Indices is adding AppLovin (APP), Robinhood Markets (HOOD) and EMCOR Group (EME) to the S&P 500 before the open on September 22, 2025. They will replace Caesars Entertainment (CZR), MarketAxess (MKTX) and Enphase Energy (ENPH).

The market reaction was immediate: APP and HOOD jumped on the announcement and again into Monday’s session as investors priced in index-tracking demand. This is the classic “inclusion effect,” where additions often rise as passive funds prepare to buy.

Why These Stocks Matter

Robinhood: The online brokerage led a wave of retail investors into the market, transforming access to equities and crypto over the past five years. Its user base nearly doubled during the pandemic, and its zero-commission model changed industry standards.

AppLovin: A mobile ad tech firm representing the digital economy’s growth, now recognized alongside giants in the index.

Why it matters for SPY

If you own the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), these moves will flow straight into your portfolio. SPY fully replicates the S&P 500, so it will add APP, HOOD and EME and remove CZR, MKTX and ENPH to mirror the index at the rebalance. For most SPY investors, the performance impact should be small—these are new, relatively modest weights in a 500-stock basket—but trading volumes in the names can be elevated around the effective date.

Sector & narrative shifts

The reshuffle nudges the index mix toward adtech (APP), fintech/brokerage (HOOD) and industrial services (EME), and away from casino gaming (CZR), fixed-income market infrastructure (MKTX) and solar hardware (ENPH). For SPY holders, this slightly re-tilts exposure toward newer economy consumer internet and fintech themes while trimming cyclical and specialty tech pockets—incremental, but directionally notable. (Additions and deletions per S&P announcement.)

Bottom line for investors

SPY owners: No action required; the fund will adjust automatically to maintain tight tracking of the S&P 500. Stock pickers: Inclusion can be a catalyst, but sustained returns will hinge on APP’s ad platform growth, HOOD’s user/asset trajectory, and EME’s project backlog and margins—not index mechanics. (Index changes confirmed; fundamentals are company-specific.)

The reshuffle marks another chapter in the index’s push to reflect today’s market leaders—reminding ETF investors that SPY’s holdings are always evolving with the American economy.