
S&P Global, which manages the Dow Jones Industrial Average, does not have strict criteria for including a company in the index. However, there are some general guidelines that are considered. A company should be a blue-chip company with an excellent reputation, sustained growth, wide investor interest, and contribute to sector balance. Additionally, the company's share price should be suitable for the index, as the Dow Jones is a price-weighted index, meaning that the degree to which each stock impacts the index is based on its share price3.

Based on recent performance, Intel might be considered for removal from the Dow Jones Industrial Average for a few reasons. First, Intel has been a laggard in the semiconductor industry, with its stock gaining only 11% over the last decade and trailing the Dow Jones by a significant margin. Additionally, Intel hasn't posted a quarter with double-digit revenue growth in nearly four years, even as peers like Nvidia report much faster growth. Furthermore, Intel's current share price makes it the third-least-influential stock in the Dow, with a weighting of barely 1%. This, combined with its long-term underperformance, suggests that there may be better representatives from the semiconductor industry to include in the index.

The primary reasons for the positive investor reaction to Nvidia's announced 10-for-1 stock split are as follows: