The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) has appreciated by over 30% in the past eight months, a dichotomy from the once-bearish market. The 10 largest artificial intelligence (AI) stocks now comprise an outsized part of the S&P 500, indicating investor optimism in AI's future.

The Data: A post on X shared a Bank of America chart depicting the "Big 10" AI stocks as a percentage of the S&P 500's total value.

The "AI Big 10": The following companies comprise the so-called AI "Big 10."

• Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), 6.82% of the S&P 500.
• NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), 6.73% of the S&P 500.
• Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), 4.49% of the S&P 500.
• Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), 3.92% of the S&P 500.
• Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), 2.62% of the S&P 500.
• Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO), 1.73% of the S&P 500.
• Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM), 0.52% of the S&P 500.
• Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NASDAQ:AMD), 0.52% of the S&P 500.
• Applied Materials, Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT), 0.42% of the S&P 500.
• Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU), 0.35% of the S&P 500.

Why it Matters: The S&P 500's sky-high performance amid tough macro conditions can largely be attributed to the proliferation of AI. On its own, NVIDIA's eye-popping performance has accounted for around half of the S&P 500's advance in 2024. In the meantime, other industries have struggled.

In recent months, other AI and AI-adjacent stocks have been added to the index. Super Micro Computer Inc was added to the S&P in March, while cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings Inc will be added next week.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.