It’s the Super Bowl of index rebalancing tonight! The biggest news was the S&P 500 adding Vertiv (VRT), Lumentum (LITE), Coherent (COHR), and EchoStar (SATS). However, S&P Dow Jones Indices also rebalanced other indexes like the S&P 100 and S&P MidCap 400.
Four stocks were added to the S&P 100 on the evening of March 6, 2026, as part of the index’s quarterly rebalancing: Micron Technology (MU), Lam Research (LRCX), Applied Materials (AMAT), and GE Vernova (GEV). The move, detailed in the official S&P Global announcement, is a clear signal of how completely AI infrastructure has reshaped the landscape of America’s largest public companies.
Four AI stocks were added, and PayPal, American International Group, Metflife, and Target were removed.
What S&P 100 Inclusion Actually Means
The S&P 100 is not just a prestige list. It tracks the 100 largest U.S. companies by market cap, and inclusion triggers mandatory buying from every index fund and ETF that tracks it. The iShares S&P 100 ETF (OEF) holds $29.4 billion in assets and must now add all four stocks to its holdings. That’s automatic, price-insensitive demand. For stocks already under pressure this week, that represents automatic, price-insensitive demand from index funds.
To be clear, that $29.4 billion number is a fraction of the funds that follow the S&P 500. However, the S&P 100 is a major stamp of approval and an exclusive club.
It’s also worth noting that Information Technology already makes up 39.4% of OEF’s weighting, with NVIDIA alone sitting at 10.76% of the fund. These four additions deepen the index’s tilt toward the AI buildout even further.
Micron Technology (MU): The Memory Backbone of AI
Micron sits at $370.30 today, up +316.17% over the past year and +29.74% year-to-date. The stock is down -10.20% this week, so the inclusion announcement arrives at a constructive moment.
Micron makes high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, the component that sits right next to AI processors in data center servers. Without HBM, you can’t run large-scale AI training (or most inference) at speed. The company’s most recent quarter showed just how central it has become: revenue hit $13.64 billion, up 56.6% year-over-year, with the Cloud Memory Business Unit alone generating $5.28 billion at a 66% gross margin. Wall Street was even more excited about guidance for next quarter.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra framed it plainly on the earnings call: “Micron’s technology leadership, differentiated product portfolio, and strong operational execution position us as an essential AI enabler, and we are investing to support our customers’ growing need for memory and storage.” With order books extending into 2027, demand isn’t slowing down.
Lam Research (LRCX): The Tool That Makes AI Chips Possible
Lam Research trades at $199.33, up +162.58% over the past year. Like Micron, It’s been a rough week, down -14.68%, as the index inclusion announcement was made public. Stocks across the AI space were sold off this week (especially into today’s close) as investors fled to cash and safety out of concern the conflict in Iran could drag on and hurt the global economy.
Lam makes the etch and deposition equipment used to manufacture advanced semiconductors. Every AI chip that NVIDIA, AMD, or anyone else sells had to pass through tools like Lam’s. Its most recent quarter showed revenue of $5.34 billion, up 22.1% year-over-year, with forward guidance pointing to roughly $5.70 billion next quarter. CEO Tim Archer has been consistent in his message: AI is accelerating demand across the entire semiconductor equipment cycle, and Lam is built for a multi-year run.
Applied Materials (AMAT): The World’s Largest Chip Equipment Maker
Applied Materials sits at $324.74, up +116.24% over the past year and +26.52% year-to-date. Like its peers, it’s given back ground this week, down -12.77%.
Applied Materials is the picks-and-shovels play on AI chip manufacturing. It supplies the broadest range of equipment in the industry, from deposition to etch to inspection. Its most recent quarter delivered revenue of $7.01 billion with record DRAM revenue representing 34% of its Semiconductor Systems segment, up from 27% a year ago.
CEO Gary Dickerson expects the semiconductor equipment business to grow over 20% in calendar 2026. S&P 100 inclusion puts a formal stamp on a company that’s been a dominant force in semicondcutor equipment.
GE Vernova (GEV): Powering the AI Economy
And we reach the last inclusion in the S&P 100.
GE Vernova is the most interesting addition of the four. At $789.44, it’s up +169.88% over the past year from $292.52 and +20.88% year-to-date. It’s also down -9.63% this week.
GE Vernova is the energy infrastructure spinoff from GE, and it builds the gas turbines and grid equipment that keep AI data centers running. You can’t train a large language model without enormous amounts of reliable power. The company’s Q4 results made the demand picture impossible to ignore: orders surged 65% organically to $22.20 billion in a single quarter, pushing the total backlog to a record $150 billion. Gas Power alone saw 41 heavy-duty turbine orders in Q4, with data center and grid infrastructure demand cited as the primary driver.
CEO Scott Strazik put it in context: “We increased our backlog to $150 billion, with better equipment margins, and are entering 2026 with significant momentum.” The company raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $44 to $45 billion and set a 2028 revenue target of $56 billion at a 20% adjusted EBITDA margin.
GE Venova has one of the healthiest backlogs for any business you’ll ever see.
The Bigger Picture
All four of these additions share one thing: they are load-bearing walls of the AI economy. Micron supplies the memory. Lam Research and Applied Materials build the machines that make the chips. GE Vernova keeps the lights on. The S&P 100 now formally reflects what the market has been pricing in for over a year. AI infrastructure isn’t a theme anymore. It’s the foundation of American large-cap equity, and today’s rebalancing makes that official.
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