Deutsche Börse names a surprising Dax climber with Siemens Energy

NNot Rheinmetall, not Commerzbank, not Delivery Hero – on Monday evening, contrary to what was previously expected by large parts of the professional world, Deutsche Börse presented Siemens Energy as the new Dax climber with effect from September 19th. The ranking list on which the decision was based was then published by Deutsche Börse on Tuesday, and not everyone was much smarter from it either. Because according to the only criterion for the composition of the index for a year now – the trading volume-weighted average market capitalization of the free float over the last 20 trading days in August – Delivery Hero is in 34th place ahead of Siemens Energy (35th place).

But apparently Delivery Hero – which had already been in the Dax until June 2022 – failed because of a basic criterion for Dax membership that was also introduced a year ago: the company must have worked profitably for two full financial years. In any case, it is not due to the price development of Delivery Hero, which has been exceptionally good since the Dax was kicked out and was just enough for rank 34 of the most valuable German stock corporations for Deutsche Börse. Delivery Hero is actually the first Dax candidate if all the basic criteria were met.

Above all, it is puzzling why, before the decision by the index operator Deutsche Börse, so many experts carried out a self-calculated ranking in which they saw Rheinmetall and Commerzbank ahead of Siemens Energy. In fact, according to the ranking published by Deutsche Börse, Rheinmetall is ranked 36th, right behind Siemens Energy. Rheinmetall has also qualified for a place in the Dax, because it is sufficient for a move up during the regular six-monthly index review in September and March Dax rising company if it ranks at least 40th among the most valuable companies.

However, at the end of August there was no other relegation apart from the cooking box supplier Hellofresh, which has just had to vacate its place in the Dax for Siemens Energy. Because a member can only drop out of the Dax for regular review if it is no longer among the 47 most valuable companies. Here, the chemical stock Covestro was ranked 44th among all Dax members after Hellofresh, but within the 47 most valuable companies.

One of the oddities is that hardly anyone had Covestro on their radar as a possible relegation from the Dax. Rather, the places in the Dax of the construction supplier Heidelberg-Cement and the online fashion retailer Zalando were considered endangered. Between Heidelberg-Cement in 40th place and Zalando in 42nd place is the sports manufacturer Puma, about whose Dax whereabouts there had previously (rightly) been no doubt.

It is not entirely clear why analysts have such difficulties in correctly predicting Deutsche Börse’s index adjustments. Apparently there were still market value shifts in August, so Rheinmetall recently had to accept a course correction. Deutsche Börse did not comply with the FAZ’s request to publish the exact difference in market capitalization between Siemens Energy and Rheinmetall until late Tuesday afternoon. In this respect, it is unclear how close the race between the two companies for the only free Dax place was.

Since Deutsche Börse does not publish the exact market values ​​of the free float it has calculated, it is also unclear how far Lufthansa, Gea, Carl Zeiss Meditec and Scout 24, which are ranked 45th to 49th in the stock exchange’s ranking, are from 44th place are to oust Covestro, which is placed there, from the 47 most valuable companies. On the other hand, it is clear why Commerzbank, in 38th place and thus qualified as a Dax climber in terms of market capitalization, will no longer make it this year: the bank worked at a loss in 2020 and therefore does not meet a basic criterion of the stock exchange for the Dax.