News

(Bloomberg) -- Apollo Global Management Inc. has been added to the S&P 500 index in the latest quarterly weighting change, joining alternative asset manager Blackstone Inc. on the world’s most-watched equity gauge. Workday Inc. has been included too.

The two companies will replace Qorvo Inc. and Amentum Holdings Inc., according to a press release from S&P Dow Jones Indices Friday. The changes are set to go into effect prior to the open of trading on Dec. 23.

Shares in Apollo have climbed more than 25% since the company reported adjusted net income of $1.13 billion, beating estimates. That rally lifted the firm’s market value by about $21 billion to $100 billion, making it one of the largest US companies eligible to be added to the S&P 500. Its push to target wealthy individuals riding the alternative-asset boom has boosted assets under management to more than $700 billion.

Shares of Apollo were up 5.8% in after-hours trading Friday. Wall Street analysts had long predicted Apollo would make the list after its merger with Athene Holding Ltd. in 2022, which created one class of voting shares and replaced its multi-tier structure that had made it ineligible.

Shares of Workday, which makes software for business tasks such as managing personnel, jumped 9% after the bell. Bloomberg Intelligence projects the firm can sustain top-line growth of around 15% over the next three years, according to a report this month.

Meanwhile, the removal of Qorvo, a component supplier at risk of being replaced by Apple Inc.’s modem efforts, highlights the risk facing the semiconductor space.

Companies must have a market capitalization of at least $18 billion and meet profitability, liquidity and share-float standards to qualify for the S&P 500, per November’s methodology.

From September: Palantir, Dell Among New S&P 500 Members as Index Rebalances

Inclusion in the US equity benchmark can elevate a company’s profile and is becoming more important as passive investment funds grow. Expulsion from the benchmark can weigh on stock prices, as index funds sell shares to realign with the S&P 500’s new composition.

--With assistance from Emily Graffeo and Laura Benitez.