S&P 500 Rejects SpaceX, Also Blocks OpenAI and Anthropic Inclusion

S&P Dow Jones Indices has rejected a request to relax its exceptional index inclusion criteria for MegaCap companies. This decision means SpaceX has lost the opportunity to be quickly added to the S&P 500 right after its IPO, which would have secured it massive passive fund inflows.

This decision also directly affects major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. These companies have likewise had their pathway to early S&P 500 inclusion after an IPO—and the passive buying that comes with it—blocked.

The key impacts and background are as follows:

• Blocked Fund Inflows: Early inclusion in the S&P 500 could have generated passive buying of approximately $14 billion for SpaceX, $8 billion for OpenAI, and $4.6 billion for Anthropic, but this has now fallen through.
• Profitability Requirement Issues: AI companies are struggling to meet profitability requirements due to massive AI infrastructure buildout costs. SpaceX, too, has debt reaching $29 billion due to AI infrastructure spending and is currently unprofitable.
• Other Indices' Moves: Unlike S&P, Nasdaq and FTSE Russell have decided to change their rules to allow SpaceX to be included in their indices more quickly.