Jonathan Gray
Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, didn’t make the S&P 500 this month despite expectations, and investors who had bet on it are disappointed. Instead, Robinhood, AppLovin, and Emcor Group got in. The changes will take effect on September 22.
Strategy’s stock dropped immediately. MSTR, the company’s Nasdaq ticker, fell about 2% in after-hours trading after the announcement, erasing earlier gains. It managed to climb back up to $335.91 afterwards.
Robinhood surged more than 7% after the news. That is called the “index effect” that new entrants get when funds tracking the S&P 500 rush to adjust their holdings.
Strategy, led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, is the largest corporate holder of bitcoin with over 636,000 BTC, worth more than $70 billion, on its balance sheet.
Investors and analysts had expected the company to make the cut this quarter, given its size, liquidity, and four straight quarters of earnings.
Related: Strategy Q2 2025 Earnings Reports | $10 Billion in Profit
According to reports, Strategy even met all the technical requirements, including a market cap above $92 billion. But the committee chose other companies.
“The index committee has full discretion to add and remove names as they see fit,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on X.
His colleague Eric Balchunas added, “Why wasn’t $MSTR allowed into the S&P 500 Index despite meeting all the criteria? Because the ‘Committee’ said no. You have to realize SPX is essentially an active fund run by a secret committee.”
For many investors, the decision shows index inclusion is more than just numbers. Jeff Park, CIO at ProCap BTC, said, “The S&P committee doesn’t just look at metrics. They focus on broader market dynamics and company positioning.”
He said while Saylor’s company checked the boxes on paper, its heavy bitcoin exposure likely raised concerns.
Park said inclusion decisions are based on structure, not media narratives, and reminded investors, “It’s never just about what Strategy does.”
Robinhood, on the other hand, got a boost from its position. Despite all the controversy around its trading practices, the company has grown into a big player with ambitions. Now it joins Coinbase and Jack Dorsey’s Block as the only digital asset companies in the S&P 500.
Missing out on such a spot is more than symbolic. Analysts estimate that if Saylor’s firm had been added, passive funds tracking the index would have bought about $16 billion of its stock.
That buying pressure would have boosted the company stock’s price, and indirectly bitcoin’s, since its treasury is so heavily weighted to the digital asset.
While it was disappointing for Bitcoiners and company stockholders, many see the bigger picture as positive. Corporate bitcoin holdings now exceed 1 million BTC—over $100 billion.
Strategy’s aggressive buying has already changed how some companies think about treasury management, and others like Metaplanet and Semler Scientific are exploring similar approaches.
