Porsche loses blue-chip status as it exits Germany’s DAX
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The automobile manufacturer Porsche AG is set to leave Germany’s leading stock index, the DAX, and will be moved to the mid-cap MDAX, according to ISS STOXX, a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse responsible for index composition.

Porsche described the move as a purely technical matter. "Deutsche Börse only counts freely traded shares for the DAX, and Porsche AG has a relatively small free float of just over 12%," CEO Oliver Blume told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"The DAX will lose one of Germany’s most valuable companies," he added.

Alongside Porsche, Sartorius — a manufacturer of laboratory and pharmaceutical equipment — will also be shifted to the MDAX.

Their places in the DAX will be taken by Scout24, the operator of an online real estate platform, and engineering group GEA. The changes will take effect on September 22.

Porsche AG went public in late September 2022 in one of the largest IPOs in German economic history.

According to Tagesschau, the company was initially hailed as a "golden newcomer": its shares debuted at €82.50 and climbed to nearly €120. Today, however, they trade at only around €45.

The company is struggling with headwinds facing the entire German auto industry: sluggish sales in China, intensifying competition from electric vehicles, and trade tensions with the United States. Porsche’s profitability has dropped sharply, forcing the company to introduce cost-cutting measures.

Porsche SE, Volkswagen’s largest shareholder (31.9%) and owner of about 12.5% of Porsche AG shares, will remain in the DAX.

Regular adjustments to the DAX are standard practice. Deutsche Börse reviews the composition of its flagship and other indices on a quarterly basis. Membership in the DAX is a mark of prestige and provides greater visibility among international investors — effectively serving as a "showcase" for the German economy.

Leaving the DAX is not necessarily permanent. For instance, Commerzbank exited the index in 2018 but rejoined in 2023, when the number of DAX constituents was expanded from 30 to 40.