Moderna Joins Nasdaq-100 Index Replacing Warner Bros. Discovery

Nasdaq announced on October 1, 2026 that Moderna, Inc. (MRNA ) will become a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX), replacing Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. prior to market open on Friday, October 9, 2026.

The announcement directed market participants to indexes.nasdaq.com for additional information, including notifications on changes to any Nasdaq indexes.

The Nasdaq-100 is designed to measure the performance of 100 of the largest Nasdaq-listed non-financial companies and employs a modified market capitalization weighting scheme, according to the Nasdaq-100 Index methodology. To qualify for inclusion, a company must be primarily listed on a U.S. Nasdaq-affiliated exchange, must not be classified in the Financial Industry under the Industry Classification Benchmark, and must have a three-month average daily value traded of at least $5 million, among other criteria. A security generally must also have been listed and available for trading on an eligible exchange for at least three full calendar months, excluding the month of initial listing.

Deletion and Replacement Rules

Under the methodology’s deletion policy, a constituent determined to be ineligible for continued inclusion is removed from the index as soon as practicable, with advance notice announced through normal channels. Removal criteria include delisting or transferring to an ineligible exchange, reorganizing as an ineligible security type, reclassification as a Financial company, declaring bankruptcy or otherwise permanently ceasing operations, and involvement in a merger, acquisition, or other major corporate event that would make continued inclusion impossible, impractical, or inappropriate.

Outside the annual reconstitution, the quarterly rebalances, spin-off events and Fast Entry additions, an addition to the index occurs only when a deletion causes the constituent count to fall below 100. In that case, the replacement is the company with the largest Full Market Capitalization that meets all eligibility criteria as of the prior month-end and is not already a constituent. The replacement company’s initial weight is set through a linear interpolation between the next largest and next smallest index constituents, based on Modified Market Capitalization ranking. The index is reconstituted annually in December and rebalanced quarterly in March, June and September.

Nasdaq’s announcement did not state a reason for the replacement.

Documented Merger Timeline

Paramount Skydance (PSKY ) Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery entered into a definitive merger agreement on February 27, 2026, under which Paramount will pay $31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding WBD shares. The transaction, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, valued WBD at $81 billion in equity value and $110 billion in enterprise value. Under the agreement, if the transaction had not closed by September 30, 2026, WBD shareholders would receive a $0.25 per share “ticking fee” for each quarter, measured daily, until closing. Paramount said it expects the acquisition to yield over $6 billion in synergies. The transaction is funded by $47 billion in equity backed by the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners, and Paramount terminated its earlier all-cash tender offer for WBD shares in connection with the agreement.

In an August 14, 2026 statement, Paramount said it had satisfied all regulatory clearances required under the merger agreement across 68 countries, most recently Mexico, and identified litigation brought by California and 11 other state attorneys general as the remaining obstacle to closing.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on September 21, 2026 that a coalition of 12 attorneys general had secured a settlement with Paramount resolving the states’ antitrust lawsuit, pending court approval. The settlement includes a five-year commitment to release 30 films per year, including 20 wide releases, in its first two years and 32 films per year, including 21 wide releases, in years three through five, plus at least four independent films each year; at least $1.5 billion in additional U.S. film production spending over five years above 2025 levels; a $47.5 million workforce fund over five years for training and career development for workers displaced by the merger; a $25 million fund for purchasing independent films; a five-year requirement that negotiations for Paramount basic cable channels be conducted independently from negotiations for Warner Bros. basic cable channels; a News Editorial Independence Board to help CNN and CBS maintain editorial independence; and an independent monitor to oversee compliance. “This settlement is not a vote of support for this merger,” Bonta said.

On September 30, 2026, the companies announced the merger is expected to close on October 6, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. At the effective time, each outstanding share of WBD common stock will convert into the right to receive $31.00 plus $0.00277778 for each calendar day elapsed after September 30, 2026 through the closing date, an amount equal to $31.01666668 per share if closing occurs on the anticipated date.

Warner Bros. Discovery entered the Nasdaq-100 through the annual reconstitution announced on December 9, 2022, effective prior to market open on December 19, 2022, alongside CoStar Group, Rivian Automotive (RIVN ), GlobalFoundries, Baker Hughes (BKR ) and Diamondback Energy (FANG ). Seven companies were removed in that reconstitution: VeriSign, Skyworks Solutions (SWKS ), Splunk, Baidu, Match Group, DocuSign and NetEase.

Moderna was previously removed from the index in the annual reconstitution announced on December 13, 2024, effective prior to market open on December 23, 2024, when it was dropped along with Illumina and Super Micro Computer (SMCI ). Palantir Technologies (PLTR ), MicroStrategy and Axon Enterprise (AXON ) were added in that reconstitution.

The Nasdaq-100 dates to January 1985, when it launched alongside the Nasdaq Financial-100, and is reconstituted each December timed to coincide with the quadruple witch expiration Friday of the quarter. The index is the basis of the Invesco QQQ Trust, and options, futures and structured products based on the index and the trust trade on various exchanges.