Nasdaq is proposing the ‘fast entry’ rule to speed up the inclusion of large new listings

Nasdaq has proposed a new rule to speed the addition of new publicly traded large companies to its index, in an effort to address delays that have left major IPOs and stock market transfers out of the benchmark for months. The proposal comes as 2026 is set to be one of the busiest years for new and some major stock market listings, including IPO plans from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

Under the proposed ‘Fast Entry’ rule, a newly listed Nasdaq company whose market capitalization is among the top 40 of the current index constituents would be eligible for accelerated inclusion, with at least five trading days’ notice and entry after 15 sessions.

The company would be exempt from standard seasoning and liquidity requirements. It would not replace an existing index member and would temporarily increase the number of voters until the next annual reconstruction, consistent with its treatment of spinoffs, Nasdaq said.

The absence of such a system has often resulted in a disconnect between the index and the broader market, given the size and market impact of such companies. Investors also expect the index to reflect the impact of the addition, which is currently not the case.

The proposal would be of great importance in 2026 as the tech giants would leverage artificial intelligence, potentially allowing them to pursue hundreds of billions in valuation.

Nasdaq is the stock exchange of choice for tech giants in the US with companies with trillions of dollars in market capitalization, such as Alphabet and Nvidia. The Nasdaq 100 index, which includes the stock market’s biggest names, is followed by investors and analysts and serves as a barometer of the health of technology and growth-oriented companies.