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SpaceX Joins Russell Indexes as Nasdaq 100 Inclusion Set for July 7

Alexij K. Fartelj
3 hours ago
2 min read

SpaceX is set to enter major U.S. equity indexes less than one month after its record-breaking public debut, reflecting the company's growing importance in global equity markets.

SpaceX has been added to the FTSE Russell U.S. equity indexes following the close on June 26 and is set to enter the Nasdaq-100 before trading begins on July 7, becoming the first company to qualify under Nasdaq’s fast-track listing rule introduced for newly listed large-cap firms.

The move comes less than a month after its record-breaking IPO on June 12, which raised approximately €65.8 billion and valued the company at around €1.56 trillion. Shares were priced at €118.5, opened at €131.7, reached a high of €198.1, and closed at €134.5 on June 26. SpaceX is now the seventh-largest publicly traded company globally by market capitalization.

Nasdaq’s updated framework allows inclusion after just 15 trading days if liquidity and size thresholds are met. A market participant described the decision as “a structural shift in how mega-cap listings are absorbed into index ecosystems.” By contrast, the S&P 500 continues to require a 12-month trading history and GAAP profitability, making mid-2027 the earliest possible entry point.

Index rebalancing is expected to drive significant passive inflows. Russell inclusion is estimated to trigger about €2.63 billion in mandatory purchases, while Nasdaq-100 inclusion could add €3.78 billion, according to J.P. Morgan estimates. Combined index-related flows are projected between €19.3 billion and €23.7 billion across benchmarks.

“The key constraint is not demand, but available float,” one analyst noted. Only about 4.3% of SpaceX shares are publicly traded, while Elon Musk retains control of roughly 98% of B-shares. Under Nasdaq’s float adjustment rules, this is treated as 12.9% for weighting purposes.

As a result, SpaceX is expected to enter the Nasdaq-100 with a weighting below 1%, despite tracking within an index pool of approximately €1.23 trillion in assets.

MSCI also confirmed inclusion of SpaceX in its Global Standard and large-cap indexes effective June 29. Analysts expect that the combination of constrained liquidity and mandatory index buying could lead to elevated volatility in the early stages of index participation.

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