Nike exits S&P 100 as Dow membership faces scrutiny

Nike is set to exit the S&P 100 index on September 21, 2026, a move that has intensified speculation about its potential removal from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The sportswear giant's market capitalization has declined approximately 80% over the past five years to roughly $53 billion, making its stock the smallest component in the price-weighted Dow with a weighting of about 0.4%.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the removal as part of a quarterly rebalancing, noting Nike's prolonged share price decline. The company's stock, trading near $36, is the least expensive among the Dow's 30 constituents. In contrast, Goldman Sachs, the index's highest-priced stock, trades around $968, approximately 27 times Nike's valuation. This disparity is a factor the Dow Jones Averages Committee monitors closely.

The committee, comprising three representatives from S&P Dow Jones Indices and two from the Wall Street Journal, makes changes on an "as-needed basis" with no predetermined removal criteria. However, a historical analysis of the last 10 Dow changes since 2013 found that at least half involved removing the component with the smallest weighting at the time. "Just looking at it...