NEW YORK, June 6, 2026, 09:11 EDT
- Flex is set to join the S&P 500 before the open on June 22, taking the spot of The Campbell’s Company.
- The stock dropped 4.8% during Friday’s session and then gained 1.5% after the close.
- Index-fund flows, volatile tech trading, and Flex’s AI data-center angle are driving the next move.
Flex Ltd. will move into the S&P 500 after S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Friday the electronics maker is set to join the index on June 22. Passive funds linked to the benchmark may have to buy shares. Flex replaces The Campbell’s Company. S&P Dow Jones Indices also said Marvell Technology will enter the index, taking the spot from Pool Corp.
Flex shares fell 4.8% to close at $151.92 Friday while growth and chip names dropped, but then climbed to $154.25 in late trading, up 1.5%, after the index news. Even with the drop, the stock finished the week about 0.8% above last Friday’s $150.78 close, having hit a record intraday high of $166.86 on Wednesday.
S&P 500 additions tend to boost short-term demand as index funds and ETFs that mirror the benchmark are required to add the new stocks. Reuters said funds tracking the S&P will need to buy at the rebalance.
Flex is trying to move past its image as a contract manufacturer. Lately the stock has become a way to play AI infrastructure—power, cooling, whole data center systems. That’s the plain gear needed for the chips powering this year’s rally. On the May earnings call, Chief Executive Revathi Advaithi said Flex invested ahead of time, betting that “compute would become power hungry.”
Stocks fell hard Friday. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.18% and the S&P 500 slid 2.64% after U.S. payrolls data came in above forecasts, making Wall Street rethink the outlook for rates, Reuters said.
Pressure hit peers, too. Jabil slid 5.5%, Sanmina sank 10.0%, and Celestica gave up 12.6% on Friday, market data showed. S&P Dow Jones Indices said Sanmina will shift from the S&P SmallCap 600 to the S&P MidCap 400 in the June 22 rebalance.
Index buying faces a test this week as pricey AI-adjacent stocks see selling pressure. Flex isn’t trading like an old-line contract manufacturer now. The market is pricing it on growth linked to data center projects, power equipment and cooling, with investors quick to hike expectations.
Flex told investors last month it’s planning to spin off the Cloud and Power Infrastructure (CPI) group as a separate public company. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of calendar 2027. CEO Revathi Advaithi told analysts customers are switching away from stand-alone products and looking for “complete architecture” in new data centers.
There’s a catch. Index inclusion can force some buying, but it doesn’t take away execution risk. Flex still has to finish the CPI separation, increase capacity without wrecking margins, and show that AI demand lasts if rates stay up or tech spending slows. On the May call, the company itself warned that forward-looking statements involve risks, and results may turn out differently.
Right now, there’s not a clearer cue than the calendar. June 22 stands out as the next key point. Traders will have to sort out if Friday’s jump after the bell means the S&P 500 is back in play, or if it was just a breather after a rough session for stocks linked to AI hardware.
