S&P 500 Index Excludes SpaceX from Inclusion, Creating Divergence with Nasdaq and Russell Indexes

SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq with a valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion, making it the largest IPO in market history, but the S&P 500 index committee declined to fast-track its inclusion, keeping the standard 12-month waiting period in place. This means investors in the most widely held passive funds — including Vanguard's VOO, BlackRock's IVV, and State Street's SPY, which together manage nearly $2 trillion in assets — will not automatically gain SpaceX exposure until mid-2027 at the earliest. Complicating matters further, SpaceX reported a net loss of $4.28 billion in its most recent quarter, meaning it may also fail the S&P 500's profitability requirement, potentially delaying inclusion well beyond a year. The Nasdaq and Russell indexes, by contrast, said they would revise their rules to accommodate large new listings more quickly, raising the prospect of an 'index war' and meaningful performance dispersions between the benchmarks. Analysts noted the decision also sets a precedent for how the S&P 500 will treat anticipated mega-cap IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which are currently unprofitable. Investors seeking SpaceX exposure can turn to thematic space ETFs — some of which held pre-IPO stakes — or to newly launching leveraged ETFs, though experts caution these carry significant risk and are designed for short-term trading rather than long-term portfolio building.