Equity pull-back highlights market’s concentration risk

Chart of the Week

Nov 21, 2025

2 MIN READ

Equity pull-back highlights market’s concentration risk

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Media and tech companies comprise an all-time high 42% of the S&P’s market cap and 31% of its earnings, underscoring the Index’s growing concentration risk.

authors

Christopher Bole

Vice President, Financial Writer

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Tech and media stocks’ share of S&P 500 market cap and earnings

Line chart showing technology and media companies’ share of the S&P 500’s market capitalization (blue line) and its earnings (green line). Both figures have nearly doubled over the past decade.

Source: Bloomberg Intelligence, L.P., as of Q3 2025.

Investors have seen extraordinary returns over the past three years as the AI boom has powered the S&P 500 to new all-time highs.
Stocks have pulled back this month, however, as investors question the return on investment AI and AI-adjacent firms should expect from their massive capex spending.
The recent decline underscores the S&P 500’s growing reliance on a handful of highly valued tech giants and raises concerns about elevated concentration risk in U.S. stocks.
Tech and media stocks now account for 42% of the S&P 500’s market value—nearly double their share a decade ago—and generate about one-third of its earnings.
As markets increasingly focus on the risks of such concentration, investors’ need for alternative sources of diversification and growth has become paramount.

contributing authors

Christopher Bole

Vice President, Financial Writer

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