S&P Dow Jones Indices added Vertiv Holdings, Lumentum, Coherent, and EchoStar to the S&P 500 index effective March 23, 2026. These AI infrastructure companies replaced Match Group, Molina Healthcare, Lamb Weston, and Paycom Software.
Lumentum, a manufacturer of optical components for data centers, saw its shares rise over 800% in the 12 months before the announcement. Coherent, also in the optical networking sector, grew by 262% during the same period, while EchoStar's shares climbed 274% year-over-year.
A major driver for Lumentum and Coherent was a $2 billion investment from Nvidia, which included purchase agreements related to the expansion of AI data centers.
The index change triggers significant passive fund flows, as ETFs and index funds must adjust their holdings. For example, Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF manages more than $500 billion in assets.
Marvell Technology is scheduled to join the S&P 500 on June 22, 2026, continuing the trend of AI infrastructure firms replacing legacy companies in the index.
Vertiv specializes in power and cooling systems for data centers, while EchoStar's growth is primarily linked to the revaluation of its spectrum assets.