Ares Stock Surges. It’s Replacing Kellanova in the S&P 500.

Kellanova owns the Cheez-It brand. (Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Ares Management will join the S&P 500 Index, replacing Kellanova, which is being acquired by Mars Inc.
• Ares Management, with a market capitalization of $54 billion, was a strong candidate for S&P 500 inclusion.
• Shares of Ares Management increased by 7.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement.

Ares Management stock was soaring ahead of the open Tuesday. The investment firm is headed to the S&P 500 index.

The company will replace Kellanova, which owns Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, and other snack brands. Private company Mars Inc. has agreed to acquire the snacks giant, and the deal is expected to close soon.

Ares, with a market capitalization of $54 billion, is one of the largest companies by market value not currently in the S&P 500 index. It was one of the top candidates for inclusion in the S&P 500 when the index made its rebalancing announcement on Friday. Carvana , CRH, and Comfort Systems USA got the go-ahead, while Ares was left out.

Monday’s announcement was positive for Ares stock, which is down 7% this year heading into Tuesday’s session. Ares, like its peers, has been hurt by worries about the private-credit sector. Larger rivals KKR and Blackstone are both down 12% in 2025.

But Ares looks set to surge into positive territory for the year off the back of its inclusion in the S&P 500. The shares were up more than 8% in premarket trading.

Wall Street is fairly bullish on Ares, with 65% of analysts covering the stock rating it Buy with an average price target of $184.86—implying a 12.5% upside to Monday’s closing price. Although, much of that upside will be eaten into Tuesday with the shares set to open at around $177.

The stock will join the S&P 500 ahead of the open on Dec. 11.

Write to Matthew Bemer at matt.bemer@barrons.com