The "Magnificent Seven" are a group of seven of the largest and most influential technology-focused companies. This group includes:
| Name and ticker | Current price | Market cap | Sector | Industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) | $233.58 | $3.5 trillion | Information Technology | Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals |
| Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) | $224.66 | $2.4 trillion | Consumer Discretionary | Multiline Retail |
| Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) | $203.05 | $2.5 trillion | Communication Services | Interactive Media and Services |
| Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) | $780.42 | $2.0 trillion | Communication Services | Interactive Media and Services |
| Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) | $520.71 | $3.9 trillion | Information Technology | Software |
| Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) | $181.63 | $4.4 trillion | Information Technology | Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment |
| Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) | $339.75 | $1.1 trillion | Consumer Discretionary | Automobiles |
All of these companies have grown rapidly over the last decade, and all but one currently have a market cap of more than $1 trillion. As they've grown, their combined value has made up a larger -- and some would say concerning -- portion of the S&P 500.
Read on for a detailed look at the Magnificent Seven stocks as a percentage of the S&P 500, their returns over the years, and what their success means for investors.
The Mag Seven's share of the S&P500
How much of the S&P 500 do the Magnificent Seven account for?
The Magnificent Seven account for 35.4% of the S&P 500 as of August 2025. That's close to three times as much as in 2015, when they made up 12.3% of the S&P 500.
| Year | Magnificent 7 Combined Market Cap | S&P 500 Market Cap | Magnificent 7 Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $2,209,120,000,000 | $17,900,000,000,000 | 12.3% |
| 2016 | $2,403,940,000,000 | $19,270,000,000,000 | 12.5% |
| 2017 | $3,493,720,000,000 | $22,820,000,000,000 | 15.3% |
| 2018 | $3,497,240,000,000 | $21,030,000,000,000 | 16.6% |
| 2019 | $5,133,650,000,000 | $26,760,000,000,000 | 19.2% |
| 2020 | $8,509,910,000,000 | $31,660,000,000,000 | 26.9% |
| 2021 | $11,786,220,000,000 | $40,360,000,000,000 | 29.2% |
| 2022 | $6,923,970,000,000 | $32,130,000,000,000 | 21.5% |
| 2023 | $12,045,530,000,000 | $40,040,000,000,000 | 30.1% |
| 2024 | $17,621,000,000,000 | $49,810,000,000,000 | 35.4% |
| 2025 YTD (8/1/25) | $18,606,120,000,000 | $52,544,000,000,000 | 35.4% |
The S&P 500 performed very well from the end of 2015 through 2024, with an overall return of 178.3%. However, it doesn't come close to the Magnificent Seven, which have a staggering 697.6% combined return over that same time span.
From 2015 through 2024, the Magnificent Seven soundly outperformed the S&P 500, delivering higher returns in eight out of nine years. The biggest difference was in 2020, when the Magnificent Seven had an annual return more than three times higher than the S&P 500 (65.8% to 18.3%). The only year in which the S&P 500 performed better was 2022, when it lost 20.4% and the Magnificent Seven lost 41.3%.
Because it's more diversified and not reliant on a single sector, the S&P 500 tends to weather stock market volatility better than the Magnificent Seven. For a recent example, the S&P 500 recovered more quickly than the Magnificent Seven from the stock market sell-off in April. That said, their year-to-date (YTD) performance is now fairly close. The S&P 500 is up 6.1% as of August 1, while the Magnificent Seven are up 5.9%.
It's largely been a bull market over the last decade, which could help explain why this group of growth stocks has been so successful. They generally aren't as resilient during times of economic uncertainty, as evidenced by their larger losses during down periods.
| Year | Apple Percentage | Amazon Percentage | Alphabet Percentage | Meta Percentage | Microsoft Percentage | Nvidia Percentage | Tesla Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26.4% | 14.4% | 23.6% | 13.4% | 19.9% | 0.8% | 1.4% |
| 2016 | 25.3% | 14.8% | 22.1% | 13.8% | 20.1% | 2.4% | 1.4% |
| 2017 | 24.6% | 16.1% | 20.8% | 14.7% | 18.9% | 3.4% | 1.5% |
| 2018 | 21.3% | 21.1% | 20.6% | 10.7% | 22.3% | 2.3% | 1.6% |
| 2019 | 25.1% | 17.9% | 17.9% | 11.4% | 23.4% | 2.8% | 1.5% |
| 2020 | 26.2% | 19.2% | 13.9% | 9.1% | 19.7% | 3.8% | 8.0% |
| 2021 | 24.6% | 14.4% | 16.3% | 7.8% | 21.4% | 6.2% | 9.3% |
| 2022 | 29.9% | 12.4% | 16.6% | 4.6% | 25.8% | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| 2023 | 24.9% | 13.0% | 14.6% | 7.6% | 23.2% | 10.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024 | 21.4% | 13.2% | 13.2% | 8.4% | 17.8% | 18.7% | 7.4% |
| 2025 YTD (8/1/25) | 16.2% | 12.3% | 12.4% | 10.2% | 21.0% | 22.8% | 5.2% |
Each company's contribution to the Magnificent Seven has changed since 2015, with some growing more significantly than others.
- Nvidia has been the top performer after adding more than $4.2 trillion to its market cap since the end of 2015. It went from being the smallest contributor to the Magnificent Seven, at just 0.8% of the combined value, to the largest at 22.8%.
- Apple and Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google, have been the worst performers. They've each dropped two places, from first and second to third and fourth, respectively. Being the worst performers in this group is all relative -- they've each multiplied their market caps and outperformed the S&P 500. This just illustrates how impressive the other companies have been.
- Microsoft has gone from third place to second.
- Amazon has dropped from fourth to fifth, although it's nearly tied with fourth-place Alphabet.
- Meta and Tesla have each dropped by one position in the hierarchy to the sixth and seventh contributors, respectively.
Why investors should care
What the Magnificent Seven dominating the S&P means for investors
Investors who buy S&P 500 index funds sometimes worry about how top-heavy the index is -- a logical concern given that seven companies contribute more than a third of the S&P 500's value.
These companies make up such a large portion of the S&P 500 because of their outsized success in recent years. Anyone invested in the S&P 500 has shared in that success, so there are advantages to the Magnificent Seven's dominance.
However, the Magnificent Seven don’t come without risks, as we've seen in 2022 and some of 2025. The group is dominated by tech stocks and stocks that are more volatile than the S&P 500. They're more heavily impacted by bear markets and downturns in the tech sector, and either of those situations will likely drag down the performance of the S&P 500 compared to more equally weighted indexes.
Of course, it's also possible that the Magnificent Seven will continue their success and deliver outsized returns to investors. And even if some of them fall, other stocks in the S&P 500 will take their place.
S&P 500 index funds are still a simple, effective way to invest in stocks. If you'd like to diversify your portfolio more, you could opt for a different index fund, a combination of funds, or a self-managed portfolio of companies you select. As the success of the Magnificent Seven shows, it is possible to get market-beating returns by picking quality stocks.
