Dow Jones Is Removing Its Oldest Member

Three companies are departing the Dow Jones Industrial Average—including Exxon Mobil, currently the oldest member of the influential 30-company stock index. The oil giant, which joined the index in 1928 as Standard Oil, will be leaving along with Pfizer and Raytheon in the Dow's biggest shake-up since 2013, report Bloomberg and NPR. General Electric, which was on the list when Charles Dow first compiled an average of industrial stocks in 1896, left the index in 2018. The three firms will be replaced on Aug. 31 by software company Salesforce, biotech firm Amgen, and the manufacturer Honeywell, which left the index in 2008.

The provider of the blue-chip stock index says the changes are necessary because of Apple's stock split, which will cut the cost of a single Apple share from $500 to around $120, reducing the price-weighted index's exposure to the technology sector, CBS reports. The index company says the changes will also "add new types of businesses that better reflect the American economy." Apple—which didn't join the index until 2015—is now the world's most valuable company, with a valuation of more than $2 trillion. As recently as 2011, Exxon was the most valuable US company, but it has faded along with other oil giants. After next week's shake-up, Chevron will be the only energy company left on the Dow. (More Dow Jones stories.)