In this piece, we will take a look at the top 25 stocks in the S&P 500 by index weight right now. If you want to skip our coverage of the flagship stock index and some recent news for its biggest constituents then you can skip ahead to Top 10 Stocks in the S&P 500 by Index Weight Right Now.
The S&P 500 plays a crucial role in the U.S. economy, politics, and the finance industry. This is because it is one of the most widely followed barometer of the economy, with investors and finance professionals using its data to inform their daily decision making. For politicians, a rising index means that they can boast to voters for having managed the economy well. For finance professionals, they can rest easy knowing that the pricey bets that they might have made on the stock market are doing well.
When compared to other indexes, the S&P 500, managed by S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI), is particularly important because of the stringent conditions that a firm must meet to be included in it. For starters, only sizeable large cap stocks, or those with a market capitalization greater than $18 billion can be included in the index. These large cap stocks must also be highly liquid, generate most of their revenue in America, and of course, be profitable. These criteria remove most firms that might not do well financially, and as a result, the S&P is also recommended as a great passive investment.
Shifting to its performance, 2024 has been a fireworks filled year for the S&P 500. The index is up by 6.9% year to date, after it also crossed the illustrious 5,000 point mark for the first time in its history. In fact, year to March 28, 2024 the index had marked 11% in gains, but it ended up losing these after the inflation data for the month led to investors significantly revising their Federal Reserve interest rate cut expectations for 2024.
In April, while the index did end up revaluing itself in the wake of shifting rate cut paradigms, the first quarter of 2024 earnings season marked by Wall Street’s enduring focus on artificial intelligence seems to have injected some life into it. The season, at least as far as artificial intelligence and technology stocks are concerned, started by Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) sharing its latest financial performance on April 24th. Meta’s results led to tens of billions of dollars in market value being wiped out as investors didn’t take too well to $40 billion in AI spending for 2024 at a time when expenses were growing. These were followed by results from Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which were more favorably received. If anything, the latest earnings reports have at least stopped the S&P 500 from bleeding further losses, and right now, Wall Street is focused on the Federal Reserve’s meeting at the end of April.
While this meeting is not expected to yield a rate cut, the focus, as always, is on comments made by the Fed after its meetings. These comments help set the tone for future monetary policy actions, and traders will also focus on earnings from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to see whether there’s any juice left for more growth. Google parent Alphabet’s earnings came with a nice surprise for investors in the form of a dividend, and Wall Street is now focused on whether Amazon will follow suit.
However, while the economic picture on the surface might point to fewer Fed interest rate cuts, the S&P 500 might surprise by posting gains if the central bank overshoots market expectations or considers economic weakness more strongly than expected. Just what might force the Fed to swing the other way despite hot inflation and labor costs? Olivia Micklem of Artemis Investment has some insights:
Obviously we can see with the data that’s been coming through in recent weeks that inflation continues to run hotter than we would have liked to see at this point in the year. That being said, alongside that we are starting to see pockets of weakness in the economy whether that’s parts of the consumer economy and other parts of the industrial complex. We got some softer number out of some of the trucking companies last week, for example. So there are indications that some parts of the economy are slowing down. I think we still remain you know cautiously optimistic that there could be an opportunity as we move through the year for the Fed to stay on track with some of their plans to start bringing rates down.
So, with the S&P 500’s future remaining as dynamic as ever, we decided to look at which stocks have been assigned the highest weights by its managers. A few notable ones are Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Our Methodology
For our list of the top S&P 500 stocks by weight, we used the holdings of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) as a proxy and verified the data by the S&P’s limited publicly available information about the S&P 500’s top ten stocks.
Top 25 Stocks in the S&P 500 by Index Weight Right Now
25. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
ETF Weight: 0.6%
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is one of the biggest banks in America. April 2024 was an important month for the bank, after shareholders rejected a proposal to split its CEO and Chairman roles. Along with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), it is a top S&P 500 stock by weight.
24. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD)
ETF Weight: 0.6%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is a semiconductor designer that sells CPUs and GPUs. It’s one of the strongest rated stocks on our list of the S&P 500’s biggest stocks as the shares are rated Strong Buy on average. The average share price target is $178.80.
23. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
ETF Weight: 0.62%
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a technology company that provides businesses with a software platform to work with their customers. With the AI race going on in full swing, the firm cautioned in April 2024 about the need to ensure that the shift to AI does not impact the environment.
22. AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV)
ETF Weight: 0.66%
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) is a healthcare company headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. The firm has been doing well on the financial front as of late since it has beaten analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
21. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)
ETF Weight: 0.67%
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is one of the biggest oil companies in the world. The firm found itself in a bit of hot water in April 2024, when a House committee report blamed it for misleading the public about climate change.
20. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
ETF Weight: 0.75%
Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is an American discount store retailer. Its shares are rated Buy on average, and the average analyst share price target is $782.40.
19. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
ETF Weight: 0.76%
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the biggest healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the world. The firm was out with a crucial set of research results in April 2024 when it revealed that its pneumonia vaccine stood its ground against alternatives.
18. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
ETF Weight: 0.78%
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is an American home improvement products retailer. Ahead of its earnings report in mid May, the stock could use some good news as the shares are down by 3% year to date.
17. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
ETF Weight: 0.82%
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a healthcare, pharmaceutical, and personal care products provider. The firm faced a setback in April 2024 when it lost a court battle to stop the government from forcing it to negotiate its blood thickening medicine.
16. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
ETF Weight: 0.87%
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is a payments network provider that enables users to make payments directly from their bank accounts. The shares are rated Strong Buy on average, and the average analyst share price target is $478.57.
15. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)
ETF Weight: 0.88%
The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) is one of the biggest consumer goods companies in the world. It was out with a major announcement in April 2024, when it revealed a partnership with chemical giant Dow to find a way to recycle plastic waste.
14. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
ETF Weight: 1%
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is another payments network company. Like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), its shares are also rated Strong Buy on average. The average share price target is $287.10.
13. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)
ETF Weight: 1.05%
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is America’s largest healthcare benefits and coverage plan provider. The saga of its systems being hacked in February 2024 is refusing to die down, with the latest bit on this front seeing Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) questioning the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for its role during the breach.
12. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
ETF Weight: 1.10%
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is another US oil major. The firm is currently dealing with pipeline maintenance plans in Guayana and has shut down some operations to connect a gas pipeline.
11. Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA)
ETF Weight: 1.25%
Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the world’s largest pure play electric car manufacturer. After a year of disappointing performance, the shares soared in April 2024 when it was reported that Tesla had made inroads in China with its driver assistance technologies.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) are some top S&P 500 stocks by weight.
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Disclosure: None. Top 25 Stocks in the S&P 500 by Index Weight Right Now is originally published on Insider Monkey.