The ten largest S&P 500 companies now make up 43.0% of the index's market value, down 0.0 points over six months. Over three months they have beaten the typical S&P 500 stock by 7.4 points, and beaten it by 7.9 points over six months. When a few giants carry the index, the S&P 500 and the typical stock can tell very different stories; the tables below show both.
The ten largest companies of a year ago, weighted by size, returned +19.1% over 12 months; the average S&P 500 stock (the equal-weight index) returned +15.3%. The gap is the giants' lead: they pulled the size-weighted index ahead of the typical stock. Using the giants as of a year ago avoids flattering them with hindsight.
Chosen by market value today. Alphabet's two share classes count separately. Share of index = each company's slice of the S&P 500's total market value.
| Company | Share of index | 1 month | 3 months | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia (NVDA) | 7.2% | +4.3% | +6.8% | +17.8% |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | 6.8% | +3.5% | +3.0% | +39.0% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class A) (GOOGL) | 5.8% | +0.8% | -1.9% | +42.8% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class C) (GOOG) | 5.7% | +0.7% | -2.8% | +40.8% |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | 5.4% | +7.4% | +33.3% | +4.7% |
| Amazon (AMZN) | 3.7% | +2.3% | +1.7% | +15.5% |
| Meta Platforms (META) | 2.6% | +10.1% | +11.1% | +3.4% |
| Broadcom (AVGO) | 2.2% | +2.2% | -7.4% | -2.2% |
| Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) | 2.0% | +3.0% | -6.1% | -15.8% |
| Lilly (Eli) (LLY) | 1.5% | +6.4% | +3.5% | +48.4% |
Over three months 8 of the ten beat the median S&P 500 stock (-3.1%). Leaders: Microsoft (+33%), Meta Platforms (+11%). Laggards: Broadcom (-7%), Tesla (-6%).
SPY weights companies by size; RSP holds all 500 equally, so it behaves like the average stock.
| Period | S&P 500 (SPY) | Equal weight (RSP) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | +1.9% | -0.5% | +2.4 pts |
| 3 months | +2.8% | -1.0% | +3.8 pts |
| 12 months | +17.3% | +15.3% | +2.0 pts |
A positive gap means the largest companies did better than the average stock; a negative gap means the rest of the market led.
Subscribers see the model portfolio's own exposure to the largest companies, direct and indirect, on the Research page.
See plansResearch only, not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Rankings change as data changes and can be wrong. Torvanta and its founder may hold positions in securities discussed. Past performance does not guarantee future results.