Is QQQ Worth Buying Now That SpaceX Has Joined the Nasdaq-100? Here's My Honest Take.

On July 7, Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) made history by becoming the index's fastest inclusion ever. It's the first stock to be admitted to the Nasdaq-100 under the new "fast track" rules to account for megacap initial public offerings (IPOs) hitting the market.

Despite the hype and headlines surrounding SpaceX joining the index and, by extension, the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ), which tracks the index, the stock's influence on them is relatively minimal. As of July 30, SpaceX is only the 24th-largest holding in the Nasdaq-100, with a weight of just 1%.

If you're wondering how that's possible for a company with a $1.5 trillion market cap, you're not alone. It's because the index's weightings are based on free-float market cap, not total market cap. Since only a small percentage of SpaceX shares are publicly available, its free-float market cap is lower. Thus, its weighting in the Nasdaq-100 and the Invesco QQQ ETF is lower.

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The inclusion of SpaceX doesn't materially change QQQ as an investment

Essentially, a 1% allocation to SpaceX in the Nasdaq-100 means that 99% of the index remains unchanged. In other words, an investment in QQQ today is almost the same as it was a month ago.

If we were talking about a stock like Apple, which has an 8% allocation, or even Micron Technology at 4%, you might want to take a portfolio allocation shift a little more seriously. But a middling 1% weighting for SpaceX isn't really going to change the calculus.

Is QQQ worth buying now?

SpaceX isn't materially impacting the Nasdaq-100 right now, but the fact that the stock is trading down more than 40% from its high is indicative of how the market feels about tech stocks at the moment.

When AI optimism was fueling big gains in 2025, almost any company delivering technological innovation was getting a lift. SpaceX still isn't turning a profit, but its status as a leader in the space race and its prominence in the news cycle pushed its valuation to over $2 trillion at one point after it went public. Most tech stocks tied to the AI trade followed a similar upward trajectory.

Today, however, investors are looking for results. Alphabet and Meta Platforms saw their stock prices take a hit in part due to higher planned capital expenditures and shrinking free cash flows. Other tech companies have continued to deliver positive results, but there's a sense that we'll begin to see some separation between the winners and losers.

I wouldn't write off the tech sector yet. The recent 10% correction in the Invesco QQQ ETF represents a better entry point, and earnings growth over the next few quarters is still expected to be strong. The boom cycle might be ending, but "buy the dip" investors might see an opportunity.

David Dierking has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.