Robinhood and AppLovin join S&P 500 after strong growth; MicroStrategy is excluded again despite its market cap and Bitcoin holdings.
This week, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced changes to the S&P 500 Index. Three new companies will join the index: Robinhood, AppLovin, and EMCOR Group. They will displace MarketAxess Holdings, Caesars Entertainment, and Enphase Energy. The given changes can also be attributed to the fact that the S&P 500 strives to keep up with the market trends and performance of companies.
Robinhood Revenue Soars 65%, Crypto Volume Hits $28B
James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF analyst, said the decision was remarkable. Not only were new additions made, but MicroStrategy (MSTR) was once again left out. A large number of investors had hoped that the company would finally be added this time.
Related Reading: Robinhood Reports $298B in Assets as Crypto Volume Doubles | Live Bitcoin News
The addition of Robinhood follows a period of effective growth. The company registered a spectacular outcome in the second quarter of 2025, which underscores its expanding market strength in the United States of America. Such as, The transaction-based revenue increased 65 percent to $539 million. Meanwhile, the crypto trading revenue grew 98 percent to $160 million, and the crypto trading volume grew by 32 percent to $28 billion.
In addition, overall platform assets almost doubled to 279 billion. This was driven by returns in both equities and cryptocurrencies. Such findings must have been among the reasons why Robinhood was included in the index.
Besides experiencing financial growth, Robinhood has diversified its products. It made a $200 million acquisition of a global crypto exchange, Bitstamp, in June 2025. Recently, Robinhood created a number of new products related to crypto in Europe and the U.S. These covered 200+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in Europe, crypto perpetual futures in the EU, and staking services to U.S. customers.
Another newcomer in the index, AppLovin, is a mobile advertising technology leader. Its further superiority in the industry contributed to cementing its position as a leading company to be added to the S&P 500 list.
MicroStrategy Misses S&P 500 Despite Market Cap Strength
MicroStrategy, on the other hand, is left on the sidelines. It has a huge market capitalization and good liquidity, but failed to make the list. It was thought that this time around it stood a good opportunity given that a lawsuit concerning its Bitcoin ownership was recently dismissed.
Of note, the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin is MicroStrategy. This has earned the company some focus, but it has also exposed its stock to extreme volatility and a close association with the crypto market. This volatility, some analysts say, might have been used against it.
The S&P 500 committee says market cap and liquidity are not the only criteria for index inclusion. They also consider sector representation, competition strength, and index rules.
>Robinhood has been focused on democratizing trading, and AppLovin, strongly positioned in ad tech, might have been more in line with the goals of the index at this time.
Nonetheless, MicroStrategy is not left out. Most companies pass through several review processes before they are listed in the S&P 500. So, there is a possibility of including MicroStrategy in one of the future rebalancing rounds.
Finally, the most recent reorganization of the S&P 500 illuminates the importance of performance, positioning, and strategy. Robinhood and AppLovin now have another growth platform, but MicroStrategy might need to wait a little longer.
