NASDAQ-100


The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index made up of 103 equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock market. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The stocks' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components. It is based on exchange, and it does not have any financial companies. The financial companies were put in a separate index, the NASDAQ Financial-100.

History

The NASDAQ-100 began on January 31, 1985 by the NASDAQ, trying to promote itself in the shadow of the New York Stock Exchange. It did so by creating two separate indices: this index, which consists of Industrial, Technology, Retail, Telecommunication, Biotechnology, Health Care, Transportation, Media and Service companies, and the NASDAQ Financial-100, which consists of banking companies, insurance firms, brokerage houses and mortgage companies. By creating these two indices, the NASDAQ hoped that options and futures contracts would be created on them, and mutual funds would adopt them as their benchmarks.
The base price of the index was initially set at 250, but when it closed near 800 on December 31, 1993, the base was reset at 125 the following trading day, leaving the halved NASDAQ-100 price below that of the more commonly known NASDAQ Composite. The first annual adjustments were made in 1993 in advance of options on the index that would trade at the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1994. Foreign companies were first admitted to the index in January 1998, but had higher standards to meet before they could be added. Those standards were relaxed in 2002, while standards for domestic firms were raised, ensuring that all companies met the same standards. The index set highs above the 4,700 level at the height of the Dot-Com Bubble in 2000, while declining to bear market lows in 2002 revolving around the Early 2000s Recession, the September 11, 2001 Attacks and the subsequent Afghan War below the 900 point level.
After a gradual 5-year recovery to an intraday high of 2,239.51 on October 31, 2007, the highest reached since February 16, 2001, the index corrected below the 2,000 level in early 2008 amid the Late-2000s Recession, the United States Housing Bubble and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Panic focusing on the failure of the investment banking industry culminated in a loss of more than 10% on September 29, 2008, subsequently plunging the index firmly into bear market territory. The NASDAQ-100, with much of the broader market, experienced a Limit Down open on October 24 and reached a 6-year intraday low of 1,018 on November 20, 2008.
Amid quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve and optimism that the financial crisis was ending, the index embarked on a volatile four-year climb higher, closing above 3,000 on May 15, 2013 for the first time since November 15, 2000. By October 18, 2013, with GOOG passing $1,000 per share for the first time, the index had made a closing high of 3,353.88 and intraday high of 3,355.63, its highest levels since the United States elections, 2000 and more than triple the 2008 low.

Record values

Annual Returns

The following table shows the annual development of the NASDAQ-100 since 1985.
YearClosing levelChange in Index
in Points		Change in Index
in %
1985132.29
1986141.419.126.89
1987156.2514.8410.49
1988177.4121.1613.54
1989223.8446.4326.17
1990200.53−23.31−10.41
1991330.86130.3364.99
1992360.1929.338.86
1993398.2838.0910.57
1994404.275.991.50
1995576.23171.9642.54
1996821.36245.1342.54
1997990.80169.4420.63
19981,836.01845.2185.31
19993,707.831,871.81101.95
20002,341.70−1,366.13−36.84
20011,577.05−764.65−32.65
2002984.36−592.69−37.58
20031,467.92483.5649.12
20041,621.12153.2010.44
20051,645.2024.081.49
20061,756.90111.706.79
20072,084.93328.0318.67
20081,211.65−873.28−41.89
20091,860.31648.6653.54
20102,217.86357.5519.22
20112,277.8359.972.70
20122,660.93383.1016.82
20133,592.00931.0734.99
20144,236.28644.2817.94
20154,593.27356.998.43
20164,863.62270.355.89
20176,396.421,532.8031.52
20186,329.96−66.46−1.04
20198,733.072,403.1137.96

Investing

The NASDAQ-100 is often abbreviated as NDX100 in the derivatives markets. Its corresponding futures contracts are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The regular futures are denoted by the Reuters Instrument Code ND, and the smaller E-mini version uses the code NQ. Both are among the most heavily traded futures at the exchange.
The PowerShares QQQ exchange-traded fund, sponsored and overseen since March 21, 2007 by Invesco through PowerShares, trades under the ticker. It is commonly referred to by its ticker or nickname, "the que's". It was formerly called NASDAQ-100 Trust Series 1. On December 1, 2004, it was moved from the American Stock Exchange where it had the symbol QQQ to the NASDAQ and given the new four-letter code QQQQ, sometimes called the "quad Qs" by traders. On March 23, 2011, Nasdaq changed its symbol back to QQQ.
In 2000, QQQ was the most actively traded security in the United States, and hit an all-time split adjusted intra-day trading high of $120.50 on March 24 of that year, but has since dropped to being within the top five after other stocks and ETFs such as the Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts. As of August 2012, the fund was the third most actively traded exchange-traded product in the world. On July 17, 2007, the ETF closed above $50 for the first time since early 2001. After reaching a peak of $55.07 on October 31, 2007, the Qs succumbed to a wider financial crisis along with a decline in technology spending and plunged towards a November 21, 2008 intra-day low of $25.05. Since then, it gradually advanced to surpass its 2007 peak, despite some volatility. By October 18, 2013, it had passed and closed above $82 to reach its highest price levels since November 6–7, 2000 and highest value since September 29, 2000 when adjusted for splits and dividends.

Standards

The NASDAQ has over the years put in place a series of stringent standards that companies must meet before being included in the index. Those standards include the following:
Additionally, since 2014, companies with multiple classes of stock are allowed to have multiple classes included in the index, provided they meet NASDAQ's criteria. Prior to 2014, companies were limited to one class of stock in the index.

Yearly rebalancing and re-ranking

While the composition of the NASDAQ-100 changes in the case of delisting, the index is only rebalanced once a year, in December, when NASDAQ reviews its components, compares them with those not in the index, re-ranks all eligible companies and makes the appropriate adjustments.
There are two tools the NASDAQ uses to determine the market values of companies for the annual review:
Those components that are in the top 100 of all eligible companies at the annual review are retained in the index. Those ranked 101 to 125 are retained only if they were in the top 100 of the previous year's annual review. If they fail to move into the top 100 in the following year's review, they are dropped. Those not ranked in the top 125, are dropped regardless of the previous year's rank.
The index also drops a company if, at the end of two consecutive months, it fails to have an index weighting of at least one-tenth of a percent. This can occur at any time. Companies that are dropped are replaced by those with the largest market value that are not already in the index. Anticipation of these changes can lead to changes in the stock prices of affected companies.
The index publicly announces all changes, regardless of when they occur, via press releases at least five business days before the change takes place. The 2018 results of the re-ranking and rebalancing were announced on December 14, with the changes effective the morning of December 24, coinciding with the expiration of options on December 21.

Differences from NASDAQ Composite index

The NASDAQ-100 is frequently confused with the Nasdaq Composite Index. The latter index includes the stock of every company that is listed on NASDAQ and is quoted more frequently than the NASDAQ-100 in popular media.
The NASDAQ-100 is a modified capitalization-weighted index. This particular methodology was created in 1998 in advance of the creation the NASDAQ-100 Index Trust, which holds portions of all NASDAQ-100 firms. The new methodology allowed NASDAQ to reduce the influence of the largest companies and to allow for more diversification. However, the weights of the stocks were not changed after that, which led to more problems. In May 2011, NASDAQ did a major rebalance of the index to bring it closer to market-cap weighting.
The index is rebalanced only if:
In addition to its almost complete lack of financial companies, the Nasdaq-100 includes 10 stocks of 9 companies incorporated outside the United States. Although the S&P 500 Index includes non-U.S. companies, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has never included foreign companies.
As of November 2018, the Nasdaq-100 has companies incorporated in the following foreign countries:
Additionally, the NASDAQ-100 is also the only index of the three that has a regularly scheduled re-ranking of its index each year, ensuring that the largest non-financial companies on NASDAQ are accurately included.

Related indices

In 2006, NASDAQ created a "farm team" index, the NASDAQ Q-50, representing the next fifty stocks in line to enter the NASDAQ-100. With some exceptions, most stocks that are added to the index come up through the Q-50. In 2011, NASDAQ created the NASDAQ-500 to track the 500 largest stocks on NASDAQ, and the NASDAQ-400, tracking those stocks not included in the NASDAQ-100.
NASDAQ has also divided the 100 into two distinct sub-indices; the NASDAQ-100 Tech follows those components who service the tech sector, and the NASDAQ-100 Ex-Tech, which follows those components that are not considered tech companies. The latter index includes noted E-commerce companies Amazon.com and eBay, which are classified as retailers.

Components

This table is current as of the open of trading on June 22, 2020. An up-to-date list is available in the External links section.
CompanyTicker
Activision BlizzardATVI
Adobe Inc.ADBE
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD
Alexion PharmaceuticalsALXN
Align TechnologyALGN
Alphabet Inc. GOOGL
Alphabet Inc. GOOG
Amazon.comAMZN
AmgenAMGN
Analog DevicesADI
ANSYSANSS
Apple Inc.AAPL
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT
ASML HoldingASML
AutodeskADSK
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.ADP
BaiduBIDU
BiogenBIIB
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.BMRN
Booking HoldingsBKNG
Broadcom Inc.AVGO
Cadence Design SystemsCDNS
CDWCDW
Cerner CorporationCERN
Charter Communications, Inc.CHTR
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.CHKP
Cintas CorporationCTAS
Cisco SystemsCSCO
Citrix SystemsCTXS
Cognizant Technology Solutions CorporationCTSH
Comcast CorporationCMCSA
CopartCPRT
CoStar GroupCSGP
Costco Wholesale CorporationCOST
CSX CorporationCSX
DexComDXCM
DocuSignDOCU
Dollar Tree, Inc.DLTR
eBay Inc.EBAY
Electronic ArtsEA
Exelon CorporationEXC
Expedia GroupEXPE
Facebook, Inc.FB
Fastenal CompanyFAST
Fiserv, Inc.FISV
Fox Corporation FOXA
Fox Corporation FOX
Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD
IDEXX LaboratoriesIDXX
Illumina, Inc.ILMN
Incyte CorporationINCY
Intel CorporationINTC
IntuitINTU
Intuitive SurgicalISRG
JD.comJD
KLA CorporationKLAC
Kraft Heinz CoKHC
Lam ResearchLRCX
Liberty Global LBTYA
Liberty Global LBTYK
Lululemon AthleticaLULU
Marriott InternationalMAR
Maxim Integrated ProductsMXIM
MercadoLibreMELI
Microchip TechnologyMCHP
Micron Technology, Inc.MU
Microsoft CorporationMSFT
Mondelēz InternationalMDLZ
Monster Beverage CorporationMNST
NetAppNTAP
NetEase, Inc.NTES
NetflixNFLX
Nvidia CorporationNVDA
NXP Semiconductors N.V.NXPI
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.ORLY
PACCAR Inc.PCAR
Paychex, Inc.PAYX
PayPalPYPL
PepsiCo, Inc.PEP
QUALCOMMQCOM
Regeneron PharmaceuticalsREGN
Ross Stores Inc.ROST
Seattle GeneticsSGEN
Sirius XM Radio, Inc.SIRI
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.SWKS
SplunkSPLK
Starbucks CorporationSBUX
Synopsys, Inc.SNPS
T-Mobile USTMUS
Take-Two Interactive, Inc.TTWO
Tesla, Inc.TSLA
Texas Instruments, Inc.TXN
Trip.com GroupTCOM
Ulta BeautyULTA
VerisignVRSN
Verisk AnalyticsVRSK
Vertex PharmaceuticalsVRTX
Walgreen Boots Alliance, Inc.WBA
Workday, Inc.WDAY
Western DigitalWDC
Xcel Energy, Inc.XEL
Xilinx, Inc.XLNX
Zoom Video CommunicationsZM

Historical components

As of June 2020, 480 companies have been components of the index. Of these, only four, Apple, Costco, Intel and PACCAR, have been components, continuously, since the first dissemination of the index in 1985. Two other current components, KLA Corporation and Micron Technology, were also components when the index started, but were removed from the index over time for various reasons.

Yearly changes

Changes from 2008–2010

A number of companies were replaced in 2008, with all the replacements taking place before the market opened that day. The DirecTV Group replaced BEA Systems on April 30, CA, Inc. replaced Tellabs on May 19, FLIR Systems replaced UAL Corporation on July 21, and on November 10 Seagate Technology replaced Monster Worldwide. On December 22, 2008, NASDAQ added the following companies to the NASDAQ-100 index prior to the market open: Automatic Data Processing, First Solar, Life Technologies, Ross Stores Inc., Maxim Integrated Products, Illumina, Inc., Pharmaceutical Product Development, O'Reilly Automotive, Urban Outfitters, J. B. Hunt Transport Services, and Warner Chilcott. They replaced Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Cadence Design Systems, Discovery Communications, Lamar Advertising Company, Leap Wireless International, Level 3 Communications, PetSmart, SanDisk, Sirius XM Radio, Virgin Media, and Whole Foods Market.
On January 20, 2009, News Corporation was added to the index, replacing Focus Media Holding, which did not meet the minimum monthly weight requirements. On July 17, 2009, Cerner Corporation replaced Sun Microsystems after Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle. On October 29, 2009, Priceline.com replaced Juniper Networks after Juniper transferred to the NYSE. On December 21, 2009, seven stocks joined the NASDAQ-100 index before the market open: Vodafone, Mattel, BMC Software, Mylan, Qiagen, SanDisk and Virgin Media. These stocks replaced Akamai Technologies, Hansen Natural, IAC/InterActiveCorp, Liberty Global, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Ryanair and Steel Dynamics.
On December 20, 2010, seven companies were added to the NASDAQ-100 index prior to the market open: F5 Networks, Akamai Technologies, Netflix, Micron Technology, Whole Foods Market, Ctrip.com International and Dollar Tree. They replaced Cintas, Dish Network, Foster Wheeler, Hologic, J. B. Hunt, Logitech and Patterson Companies. These were the only changes made to the index that year and the fewest since 1997.

Changes in 2011

On April 4, 2011, Alexion Pharmaceuticals replaced Genzyme before the market open. On May 27, 2011, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters replaced Millicom International Cellular prior to the market opening after Millicom withdrew its NASDAQ listing. On July 15, 2011, Sirius XM Radio replaced Cephalon in the index, and on December 6, 2011, Perrigo joined the index. The company replaced Joy Global, who transferred their stock listing to the NYSE. Perrigo had been a member of the index in the 1990s, being dropped in 1996. On December 19, 2011, five companies joined the NASDAQ-100 index prior to the market open as a result of NASDAQ's annual reranking of the index. They were Avago Technologies, Fossil, Inc., Monster Beverage, Nuance Communications, and Randgold Resources. These companies replaced FLIR Systems, Illumina, NII Holdings, Qiagen, and Urban Outfitters. On December 20, 2011, Electronic Arts changed its ticker symbol.

Changes in 2012

On April 23, 2012, Texas Instruments replaced First Solar prior to the market open. On May 30, 2012, Viacom became a component of the index prior to the market open. It replaced Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which transferred to the NYSE. On July 23, 2012, Kraft Foods, Inc., now known as Mondelez, became a component of the index prior to the market open, replacing Ctrip. Kraft Foods was the fourth component of the NASDAQ-100 to also be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, joining Cisco Systems, Intel, and Microsoft, but was removed from the DJIA when it subsequently split into two companies. On Wednesday December 12, 2012, Facebook Inc. became part of the NASDAQ-100 Index prior to the market open, replacing Infosys Limited, which transferred its listing to the NYSE. Prior to the market open on Monday, December 24, 2012, 20 changes to the index took place. The ten companies joining the index were Analog Devices, Catamaran Corporation, Discovery Communications, Equinix, Liberty Global, Liberty Media, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, SBA Communications, Verisk Analytics and Western Digital. The ten companies being dropped were Apollo Group, Electronic Arts, Flextronics, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Lam Research, Marvell Technology Group, Netflix, Research in Motion, VeriSign and Warner Chilcott.

Changes in 2013

On January 15, 2013, Starz Inc. replaced Liberty Media after a spinoff. On March 18, 2013, Kraft Foods Group Inc. replaced Starz Inc. On June 5, 2013, Liberty Media replaced Virgin Media, with whom it merged. On June 6, 2013, Netflix replaced Perrigo, which had transferred to the NYSE. On July 15, 2013, Tesla Motors replaced Oracle Corporation, which transferred to the NYSE. On July 25, Charter Communications replaced BMC Software. On August 22, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters returned to the index, replacing Life Technologies. On October 29, VimpelCom Ltd. replaced DELL. On November 18, Marriott International was added to the index, replacing Randgold Resources. Prior to the market open on Monday, December 23, 2013, 10 changes to the index took place. The five companies joining the index were DISH Network Corporation, Illumina, NXP Semiconductors, Tractor Supply Company, and TripAdvisor. The five companies that were dropped were Fossil, Inc., Microchip Technology, Nuance Communications, Inc., Sears Holdings Corporation, and DENTSPLY International Inc.

Changes in 2014

Prior to the market open on Thursday, April 3, 2014, the Class C common stock of Google, Inc. was added to the index as a result of Google's stock split. This meant the index had 101 components. Later in 2014, additional classes of stock from other index companies were added to the index, bringing the number of constituent securities in the index to 107. On December 12, 2014, NASDAQ announced that American Airlines Group, Electronic Arts, and Lam Research would be added to the index, effective December 22, replacing Expedia, F5 Networks, and Maxim Integrated Products.

Changes in 2015

A number of changes took place in 2015. On March 23, Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced Equinix in the index. Equinix converted into a REIT, making it ineligible for inclusion in the NASDAQ-100, but it did gain eligibility for the NASDAQ Financial-100. On July 1, Liberty Interactive created two new tracking stocks, tracking the company's interests in Latin America. Both tracking stocks were added to the index the same day. On July 2, Kraft Foods and Heinz completed their merger, becoming the Kraft Heinz Company. Catamaran Corporation was removed from the index after the close of trading on July 23, after going private. JD.com replaced it on July 29. DirecTV was removed from the index on July 24 and replaced by BioMarin Pharmaceutical on July 27. Sigma-Aldrich was removed on July 31, after being acquired by German firm Merck KGaA. Skyworks Solutions took Sigma-Aldrich's place at the start of trading August 3.
Altera was removed on October 7 as a result of its merger with Intel. Incyte replaced Altera's on that date. PayPal Holdings was added to the index on November 11, as Broadcom Corp. was in the process of merging with Avago Technologies. Comcast Corporation on December 15 converted their Special Class A shares to regular Class A shares. Due to this change, the last day of trading for the symbol was December 11.
NASDAQ announced on December 11 that seven companies would be replaced in the index on December 21 due to annual re-ranking. The companies joining the index effective prior to market open were Ctrip, Endo International, Expedia, Maxim Integrated Products, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, T-Mobile US, and Ulta Salon, Cosmetics and Fragrances. The companies leaving the index were C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Expeditors International, Garmin, Keurig Green Mountain, Staples, Inc., VimpelCom, and Wynn Resorts. In addition, two Liberty Media tracking stocks and were removed from the index, leaving 106 separate components.

Changes in 2016

A number of changes took place in 2016. On February 1, Avago Technologies changed its name to Broadcom Limited. On February 22, CSX Corporation replaced KLA-Tencor as a member of the index. On March 16, NetEase replaced SanDisk as a member of the index. On April 18, Liberty Media established two tracking stocks to follow the performance of its investment in the Atlanta Braves. On June 20, Dentsply Sirona returned to the index, replacing four Liberty Media tracking stocks,,,. On July 18, Microchip Technology Incorporated returned to the index, replacing Endo International plc. On October 19, Shire PLC replaced Linear Technology in the index. On December 9, the annual re-ranking of the index was announced, resulting in four changes. Joining the index December 19 were Cintas, Hasbro, Hologic and KLA-Tencor. Bed Bath and Beyond, NetApp, Stericycle and Whole Foods Market were dropped from the index.

Changes in 2017

A number of changes took place in 2017. On February 1, Tesla Motors changed its corporate name to simply Tesla. On February 7, J. B. Hunt Transport Services replaced NXP Semiconductors in the index. On March 20, Idexx Laboratories replaced SBA Communications in the index after SBA converted to a REIT, rendering it ineligible for inclusion. On April 24, Wynn Resorts, Limited replaced TripAdvisor, Inc. On June 19, MercadoLibre replaced Yahoo! due to its partial purchase by Verizon and subsequent conversion to a closed-end fund. On October 23, Align Technology replaced Mattel in the index. On December 8, NASDAQ announced that five companies would enter the index on December 18. They were ASML Holding, Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys, Take-Two Interactive Software, and Workday, Inc. These companies replaced Akamai Technologies, Discovery Communications - both classes listed in the index , Norwegian Cruise Lines, Tractor Supply and Viacom.

Changes in 2018

On July 23, PepsiCo replaced Dish Network. On November 5, NXP Semiconductors replaced CA, who merged with Broadcom. On November 19, Xcel Energy replaced Dentsply Sirona. On December 14, NASDAQ announced that 6 stocks will join the index. They are Advanced Micro Devices, lululemon Athletica, NetApp, United Continental Holdings, Verisign, and Willis Towers Watson. They will replace Express Scripts, Hologic, Qurate Retail Group, Seagate Technology, Shire and Vodafone.

Changes in 2019

On March 19, the two classes of stock of Fox Corporation replaced the two classes of stock of 21st Century Fox. On November 21, Exelon Corporation replaced Celgene. On December 13, Nasdaq announced that as a result of the annual re-ranking of the index, these six companies would join December 23: ANSYS, CDW, Copart, CoStar Group, Seattle Genetics, and Splunk. They replaced Hasbro, Henry Schein, J.B. Hunt, Mylan, NortonLifeLock, and Wynn Resorts.

Changes in 2020

On April 20, Dexcom replaced American Airlines Group in the index. On April 30, Zoom Video Communications replaced Willis Towers Watson. On June 22, DocuSign replaced United Airlines Holdings.