TLDR
- Apple and Nvidia together account for more than 15% of the S&P 500, the highest two-stock concentration in the index’s history.
- That beats the 9.1% combined weight Microsoft and General Electric held before the dot-com crash.
- Apple stock hit an all-time high of $345 this week after unveiling the iPhone 18 and its first foldable phone.
- Nvidia expects at least 70% growth next fiscal year, with CEO Jensen Huang saying it could top 100% without supply limits.
- The top 10 S&P 500 companies now make up 38.69% of the entire index.
Apple and Nvidia have become the two most powerful companies in the stock market. Together they now make up more than 15% of the S&P 500 Index, according to Creative Planning president Peter Mallouk.
That is the highest combined weight two stocks have ever held in the index’s history.
For comparison, Microsoft and General Electric held a combined weight of just 9.1% right before the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. Today’s number is more than five percentage points higher.
How the Numbers Break Down
Nvidia currently holds the top spot in the S&P 500 with a weight of 8.21%. Apple follows close behind at 7.40%.
Together, those two companies total 15.61% of the entire index, based on holdings data from the S&P 500 ETF as of September 23.
Looking at the top 10 companies in the index paints an even bigger picture. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Micron, and Tesla round out the list. Combined, the top 10 holdings make up 38.69% of the S&P 500.
Apple’s stock climbed to an all-time high of $345 this week. The rise followed the unveiling of the iPhone 18 and the company’s first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo.
The stock has since pulled back slightly as Treasury yields rose and the broader market cooled off. Even so, Apple is still up roughly 24% to 25% for the year.
Nvidia has had a strong year too, with shares up around 20% to 21% year to date. The company closed at $224.58 on September 24.
Nvidia’s growth is tied closely to demand for AI chips. In late August, the company said it expects business growth of at least 70% in its next fiscal year.
CEO Jensen Huang said growth could top 100% if not for supply chain limits slowing production.
A Growing Trend Over Several Years
The rise in concentration is not new. Data from quarterly SEC filings shows the top 10 S&P 500 holdings grew from 21.6% in September 2019 to a peak of 38.8% by September 2025.
As of June this year, that number stood at 36.4% before climbing again.
The S&P 500 is weighted by market value, so the biggest companies carry the most influence over how the index moves. As Apple and Nvidia grow larger, their share of the index grows too.
This differs from some other major indexes. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average has a rule that caps any single stock’s weight at 10%. If a company passes that threshold, its influence on the index gets reduced through an adjustment formula.
The S&P 500 has no such cap. That means index funds tracking the S&P 500 must keep buying more shares of Apple and Nvidia as their prices rise, since the funds are built to match the index exactly.
Unlike the dot-com era, both companies are backed by real earnings rather than expectations. Apple generates steady cash flow from hardware and services. Nvidia’s data center and AI chip business shows up directly in its financial results.
Still, both companies face risks tied to their core businesses. Nvidia depends on continued spending on AI infrastructure. Apple depends on a smartphone market that has slowed in growth in recent years.
Investors and analysts continue to watch both companies closely as their weight in the index keeps expanding.
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