How Many Companies Are in the S&P 500?

Although there are generally 500 companies within the index, that number has grown. There were 503 stocks that made up the S&P 500 as of Aug. 31, 2023. That's because some companies have multiple classes of equity shares, such as Alphabet.

How Are Companies Selected for the S&P 500?

A company must meet certain requirements for inclusion in the S&P 500, which include: A market cap of at least $14.5 billion Must be a U.S. company A float-adjusted liquidity ratio (FALR) greater than or equal to 0.75 Positive earnings over the most recent four consecutive quarters summed together A profitable earnings report for the company's most recent quarter Liquidity requirements

How to Buy the S&P 500?

Since the S&P 500 is an index, it can not be purchased directly; however, exchange-traded funds that mirror or track the index can be purchased, such as the State Street Global Advisors' SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY).

Table of Contents

S&P 500 Inclusion Criteria
S&P 500 Calculation
S&P 500 Sector Breakdown
Components by Market Cap
FAQs
The Bottom Line

Unknown crypto whale invested $4.3M in ARBUZ token — market reacts instantly

Today the crypto market was stirred up by an unexpected deal: an anonymous large investor (the so-called "whale") invested $4.3 million in the token ARBUZ, which until recently remained in the shadows.

The news about it instantly spread across the main crypto media, which caused an instant pump and attracted the attention of retail traders around the world.

What happened?

According to data from Lookonchain, around 09:58 UTC, a newly created wallet received a large USDC transfer. Within minutes, it made several ARBUZ purchases totaling $4.3 million. These transactions went through decentralized exchanges (Uniswap and 1inch), causing the token's price to skyrocket by over 600% in an hour.

This was soon reported by publications such as Cointelegraph, The Block, CryptoSlate and Wu Blockchain, which only added to the excitement.

Who's behind the purchase?

So far, the investor’s identity remains a mystery. The wallet used for the transactions has no history aside from the recent USDC deposit and the ARBUZ buys. That’s typical behavior for whales who prefer to remain in the shadows so as not to cause premature panic or hype before the purchase.

Analysts think that:

It could be a private fund or cryptoinsider with information about an upcoming listing or partnership. Or it could be a speculative attack aimed at short-term pump and attracting retail investors.

Within 2 hours of the transaction:

- ARBUZ's trading volume surpassed $105 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

- The token broke into the top 10 in growth in a day.

- On X (Twitter), the hashtag #ARBUZ became a trend in the crypto community — with over 72,000 mentions in just 4 hours.

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

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S&P Dow Jones Indices. "S&P 500," Download Methodology, Page 16.

S&P Dow Jones Indices. "S&P 500: Data," Select "Country Breakdown."

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. "Market Cap, Explained."

S&P Dow Jones Indices. "S&P 500: Data," Select "Sector Breakdown."

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State Street Global Advisors. "SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust."

State Street Global Advisors. "SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust," Download "All Holdings Daily."

S&P Dow Jones Indices. "S&P 500: Data."

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The offers that appear in this table are from partnerships from which Investopedia receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where listings appear. Investopedia does not include all offers available in the marketplace.