Dow Jones Industrial Average

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated Oct 29, 2025 at 9:17 AM | Fact-checked by Margo Winton Parodi

Key Points

The Dow Jones index tracks 30 large U.S. companies, giving a picture of the overall market.
Investors can invest in the Dow by buying shares of ETFs that track the index or of companies listed in the index.
A particular denominator, known as the Dow Divisor, is used to calculate the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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The word Index against a background of colored stripes. — Image Source: Getty Images.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average includes not just industrial stocks but also stocks from most sectors and industries, except for utilities and transportation, which are measured by other indexes specific to those fields.

According to S&P Global, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is a "world-renowned gauge of the U.S. equity market." Most Dow Jones Industrial Average–listed companies trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

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An infographic comparing the origins of and types of stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. — Image source: The Motley Fool.

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Other major market indexes

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The S&P 500 Index

The 500 largest companies make up this bellwether index.

What Is the Nasdaq Composite Index?

Once you understand how the Nasdaq Composite Index works, you can learn to use this index to help guide you in creating wealth.

What Is the Russell 2000 Stock Market Index?

The Russell 2000 index is considered a benchmark for smaller U.S. stocks.

What Is a Stock Market Index?

What are the major stock market indexes, and what stocks do they contain?

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Most professional investors focus on the performance of the S&P 500 because it includes a broad range of stocks and is weighted by market cap. That is a more accurate way to measure the overall health of the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average may not be as comprehensive or precise as the S&P 500 or a total market index such as the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index (WFIV.X +0.37%), but this long-standing index still serves as a good indicator of the stock market's overall direction and functions as a convenient short list of some of the most powerful companies in the U.S.

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About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon, Home Depot, Meta Platforms, Nike, Nvidia, Visa, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends 3M, Alphabet, Amazon, Amgen, Apple, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Goldman Sachs Group, Home Depot, Intel, International Business Machines, JPMorgan Chase, Merck, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nike, Nvidia, S&P Global, Salesforce, Tesla, Visa, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends CME Group, GE Aerospace, Johnson & Johnson, Sherwin-Williams, UnitedHealth Group, and Verizon Communications and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft, and short November 2025 $21 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.