Bloom Energy Jumps as It Heads Into the S&P 500

Bloom Energy, Everpure, and Illumina will join the S&P 500 before the open on Sept. 21, sending AI energy play Bloom sharply higher in after-hours trading.

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late Friday that Bloom Energy (BE), Everpure (P), and Illumina (ILMN) will join the S&P 500 before the open on Monday, September 21, as part of a quarterly rebalancing of the benchmark index. The three incoming members will replace Molson Coors Beverage, The Trade Desk, and Builders FirstSource, all of which will move down into the S&P SmallCap 600. Everpure and Illumina will also depart the S&P MidCap 400 as they rise into the large-cap index. Because index funds that track the S&P 500 must buy every new constituent, that forced buying often lifts a stock between the announcement and the effective date. The announcement immediately moved all three shares higher in after-hours trading.

The biggest mover was Bloom Energy, the AI power play, which closed regular trading at $252.87, up 7.4% on the day, then rose a further 6% after hours as traders priced in the inclusion. According to Stocktwits, the surprise cut the other way for Cheniere Energy: its shares slipped 5% after hours because investors had assumed the liquefied natural gas company would also make it into the index alongside Bloom. Only one of the two energy names got the nod. Per Stocktwits, Everpure finished at $99.51, up 1.4%, and added about 2% after the bell, while Illumina closed lower at $218.22 and edged up 2% on the news.

The reshuffle extends well beyond the S&P 500. According to Stocktwits, Dell Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, Arista Networks, and SanDisk will join the S&P 100, while Honeywell Aerospace, Nike, Simon Property Group, and Colgate-Palmolive come out of that index. The S&P MidCap 400 will add HubSpot, AGNC Investment, Corcept Therapeutics, and Brinker International. The SmallCap 600 picks up the departing Trade Desk, Molson Coors, and Builders FirstSource, along with Herc Holdings, Delek US Holdings, Capri Holdings, and Boston Beer. S&P said the shuffle is meant to keep each index closer to its market-cap range, which explains why fast-growing large caps move up while slower ones drop down a tier.

The inclusion matters because S&P 500 membership forces buying from index funds, a mechanical tailwind in the two weeks before the September 21 effective date. Investor's Business Daily framed Bloom as an AI energy play, reporting separately that its earnings surged 680% even as the stock skidded at the time, and that the company rebounded after categorically rejecting a short-seller report. Per Stocktwits, retail sentiment around both BE and LNG rose from bullish to extremely bullish over the past 24 hours, with one user calling for a rally to $300 for Bloom before its index addition and another pointing to Nancy Pelosi's August purchase of BE stock. BE stock has gained 191% year-to-date, while LNG added 50%, per Stocktwits.