This is the first change to the list since 2024, when Dow (no relation) and Intel were removed to make room for Nvidia and Sherwin-Williams. This is an obvious change, as a paint company isn’t exactly the fanciest addition. The stated purpose of this new change is to make the average more aware of market dynamics than to compile a list of important companies. CNBC says the average seeks to reflect market activity related to AI, cloud and advertising.
Still, with only 30 members, the Dow feels like a highly selective club and a blue-chip seal of approval — perhaps even more so than its cousin, the S&P 500, which has, yes, 500 members.
However, it is worth bearing in mind that there are no rules for inclusion in the index, so these cases may seem quite arbitrary.
It’s also worth remembering that the average is weighted by stock price rather than market capitalization, which increases arbitrariness. Historically, this means that large changes in Goldman Sachs’ stock price have a huge impact on the average, but only because Goldman Sachs’ individual share prices are so high compared to other companies. At the time of writing, a share of Goldman Sachs is worth $1,089.29, while Alphabet, Inc. A share of Dow will cost you just $348.17 (and that’s up about 1.7% in after-hours trading after the Dow announcement).
But this change is not entirely symbolic. Anyone in possession of simple financial products like the State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF, or the leveraged ProShares UltraPro Dow30 will soon own a little bit of Google, whether they intend to or not.
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