Robinhood Stock Jumps 15% on S&P 500 Inclusion; Strategy Slips as Analysts/Saylor Downplay Snub

Robinhood (HOOD) stock soared 15% on Monday following the company’s inclusion in the S&P 500, the widely tracked benchmark for U.S. equities. The announcement was made after markets closed on Friday and takes effect with the index’s September 22 rebalance.The trading platform, which has seen its stock price nearly triple this year, has long been considered a frontrunner for inclusion. It was one of the three largest eligible companies yet to be added to the index.Meanwhile, shares of Strategy (MSTR) slipped lower after the bitcoin BTC$112,343.13 development company was passed over,despite qualifying for inclusion for the first time this quarter. Strategy posted $14 billion in operating income and $10 billion in net income for the second quarter 2025 — eye-popping figures that met the S&P’s requirements. The source of the profit — a sharp rise in the price of bitcoin — likely didn’t set well with the selection committee, which surely was aware that BTC can also move in the opposite direction.MSTR was down 1.5% in late morning U.S. action.Appearing on CNBC Monday morning, Strategy CEO Michael Saylor said he hadn’t expected immediate inclusion. “I don’t think we expected to be selected on our first quarter of eligibility,” he said. “We figured it’ll happen at some time.”Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer echoed that sentiment, writing that Strategy “does not need S&P’s approval as validation of its operating model, as the market scoreboard has already provided it in emphatic fashion.”TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanca called the committee’s decision unsurprising. “Inclusion was never central to our investment thesis, though it remains a potential positive catalyst,” he wrote.Some observers speculate that the committee may be hesitant to include a company so heavily tied to bitcoin. Vitanca addressed the possibility directly, writing: “To the extent the Committee is instead acting on deeper, philosophical, political, or economic concerns, these may be assuaged over time.”