S&P 600

Last updated
S&P 600
FoundationDecember 30, 1994;30 years ago (1994-12-30) [1]
Operator S&P Dow Jones Indices [2]
Exchanges NYSE, Nasdaq, Cboe [3]
Trading symbol
  • SML
  • ^SML
  • SP600
  • ^SP600
Constituents 602
Type Small-cap [2]
Market cap US$1.5 trillion
(as of January 31, 2025) [1]
Weighting method Free-float capitalization-weighted [3]
Related indices
Website www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-600/

The S&P SmallCap 600 Index (S&P 600) is a stock market index established by S&P Global Ratings. It covers roughly the small-cap range of American stocks, using a capitalization-weighted index.

Contents

To be included in the index, a stock must have a total market capitalization that ranges from $1 billion to $7.4 billion. [4] These market cap eligibility criteria are for addition to an index, not for continued membership. As a result, an index constituent that appears to violate criteria for addition to that index is not removed unless ongoing conditions warrant an index change. [4]

Additionally, same as S&P 500 and S&P 400, there is a financial viability requirement. Companies must have positive as-reported earnings over the most recent quarter, as well as over the most recent four quarters (summed together).

As of 31 December 2024, the index's median market cap was $2.06 billion and covered roughly three percent of the total US stock market. These smallcap stocks cover a narrower range of capitalization than the companies covered by the Russell 2000 Smallcap index which range from $169 million to $4 billion, [5] excluding some of the smallest companies. The S&P 400 MidCap index combined with the SmallCap 600 compose the S&P 1000, and the S&P 1000 plus the S&P 500 compose the S&P 1500. The index was launched on October 28, 1994 [6] and its ticker symbols are either SML, ^SML, SP600 or ^SP600 depending on the financial website.

Investing

The following exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attempt to track the performance of the index:

Index Fund

Growth Index Fund

Value Index Fund

It can be compared to the Russell 2000 Index. [7] [8] [9]

Versions

The "S&P 600" generally quoted is a price return index; there are also total return and net total return versions of the index. These versions differ in how dividends are accounted for. The price return version does not account for dividends; it only captures the changes in the prices of the index components. The total return version reflects the effects of dividend reinvestment, while the net total return version takes into account dividend withholding taxes for foreign investors.

Annual returns

S&P 600 Index annual returns [10] [1]
YearPrice returnTotal return
20246.82%8.70%
202313.89%16.05%
2022-17.42%-16.10%
202125.27%26.82%
20209.57%11.29%
201920.86%22.78%
20189.75%8.48%
201711.73%13.23%
201624.75%26.56%
20153.36%1.97%
20144.44%5.76%
201339.65%41.31%
201214.81%16.33%
20110.16%1.02%
201024.98%26.31%
200923.78%25.57%
200831.99%31.07%
20071.22%0.30%
200614.07%15.12%
20056.65%7.68%
200421.59%22.65%
200338.79%
200214.63%
20016.54%
200011.80%
199912.40%
19981.31%
199725.58%
199621.32%
199529.96%
19944.77%

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "S&P SmallCap 600 Index (USD) Factsheet" (PDF). S&P Dow Jones Indices . February 28, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "S&P SmallCap 600®". S&P Dow Jones Indices . Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  3. 1 2 "S&P U.S. Indices Methodology" (PDF). S&P Dow Jones Indices . February 2025. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
  4. 1 2 "S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Update to S&P Composite 1500 Market Cap Guidelines" (PDF). S&P Global. January 2, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  5. "Market capitalization ranges". Russell Investments. Archived from the original on Dec 20, 2014.
  6. "S&P SmallCap 600". Standard and Poors. Archived from the original on Sep 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  7. Tran, Hung (July 11, 2014). "Small Caps: S&P 600 Vs. Russell 2000". ETF.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-07.
  8. Soe, Aye M.; Dash, Srikant (23 June 2009). "A Tale Of Two Benchmarks". IndexUniverse.Com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-30.
  9. Shriber, Todd (June 4, 2014). "Index Differences Crucial in Evaluating Small-Cap ETFs". ETF Trends. VettaFi.
  10. "A Tale of Two Benchmarks" (PDF). Standard & Poors. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-13.