Okta Joins S&P 500 in Three-Way Index Reshuffle Ahead of Nov. 4

Key Facts

S&P Dow Jones Indices said Okta will replace Kenvue in the S&P 500 in a change that takes effect before trading opens on Nov. 4. The move shifts the company from the MidCap 400 to the flagship index, as Kenvue exits. The index committee linked the change to Kimberly-Clark’s acquisition of Kenvue and said the deal is expected to close soon, subject to satisfaction of the final closing conditions. The adjustment also affects the MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600, in a chain of moves involving three companies. Okta’s entry and Kenvue’s departure change the index’s exposure to two different sectors: S&P DJI classifies the former in information technology and the latter in consumer staples.

According to S&P DJI’s announcement, Glaukos will move to the S&P MidCap 400, replacing Okta after its move to the S&P 500. In turn, Glaukos will leave the S&P SmallCap 600, where McGrath RentCorp will replace it. Okta’s entry into the large-cap index is thus linked to a sequence of moves in the two smaller indexes, involving three companies and three positions. The change places Okta and Glaukos in indexes above the ones in which they were listed, while McGrath RentCorp moves into the SmallCap 600. The index announcement did not provide details on the companies’ weights after the changes.

Kenvue’s departure from the index comes amid its acquisition by Kimberly-Clark, but the deal had not closed when the change was announced. Shareholders of both companies approved the deal on Jan. 29, 2026, according to a Kimberly-Clark filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company expected to complete the merger in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. This context helps explain why S&P DJI linked Kenvue’s removal to the deal, while noting that final closing remains pending. Under the merger terms, each Kenvue shareholder is entitled to receive 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares and $3.50 in cash for each share upon completion of the deal.

Kimberly-Clark said its existing shareholders will own about 54% of the combined company, compared with about 46% for Kenvue shareholders, on a fully diluted basis. The split reflects the expected ownership structure after the merger, according to the filing with the SEC. In a separate update dated Oct. 13, Kimberly-Clark announced that it had received the required consents to amend the terms of Kenvue notes. The consents covered new notes with aggregate principal of up to $7,000,000,000 as part of the exchange offers. The company said settlement of those offers is expected near the acquisition’s closing, linking completion of the financing component to the deal’s timing.

The index announcement came on a day of mixed trading for Okta shares: they rose 2.1% in extended trading after the announcement, after falling more than 6% during the regular session on Oct. 30. Investing.com attributed the after-hours gain to news that the company had been selected to join the S&P 500, while the earlier decline came amid a selloff in technology stocks. The reaction to the announcement came during a session in which the stock fell before reversing course in extended trading. Available information does not include a documented closing price for Okta, Kenvue or Kimberly-Clark shares that day. The change in index membership also does not alter the announced sector classifications: information technology for Okta and consumer staples for Kenvue.

Okta’s second-quarter fiscal 2027 results provide a snapshot of the company’s performance ahead of its index entry. Revenue was $805 million, up 11% year over year, while net income under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles was $116 million, compared with $67 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2026. The company forecast fiscal 2027 revenue of between $3.216 billion and $3.226 billion, equivalent to year-over-year growth of between 10% and 11%. Okta said the forecast includes an approximately one-percentage-point negative impact on revenue growth from accelerating the transfer of professional services work to its partners. The next move in the sequence of changes takes effect before trading opens on Nov. 4, while the Kenvue-Kimberly-Clark deal remains subject to completion of the final conditions.