Which companies have always been in the DAX?

Since July 1, 1988, there is the German stock index DAX. It contains - initially the 30 - and since its expansion in September 2021 - the 40 largest and highest-turnover companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This makes the DAX the most important German share index and recognized both nationally and internationally as the leading German index.

The composition of the index is regularly adapted to the market, companies that no longer exist or are lost in importance are replaced by new values.

There are, however, nine stocks that have held steady in the DAX since the introduction of the DAX until today. These companies are in alphabetical order:

• Allianz
• BASF
• Bayer
• BMW
• Deutsche Bank
• Henkel
• RWE
• Siemens
• Volkswagen

This means that about a third of the original DAX companies have up to now been able to hold their own in the DAX for more than 34 years.

Still in the DAX due to Successor Companies

Four other companies that were already present in the DAX in 1988 are still listed in the DAX without interruption through successor companies, spin-offs or mergers. These companies are:

• Covestro (spun off from Bayer)
• Daimler-Benz (today Mercedes-Benz + Daimler Truck)
• VEBA and VIAG (today merged to E.ON)

Covestro was split off from Bayer in 2015 and was previously part of the Bayer Group as Bayer MaterialScience. Today Bayer and Covestro are both listed in the DAX.

The situation is similar with Daimler-Benz. Daimler-Benz AG, which was listed in the first DAX composition in 1988, first merged with Chrysler Corporation in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler AG. In 2007, the two companies separated again and Daimler continued to operate under the new name Daimler AG. In 2021, the commercial vehicle division of Daimler AG was spun off into the new Daimler Truck Holding AG and in 2022 the remaining Daimler AG was renamed to Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Daimler Truck Holding AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG still exist today and are both listed in the current DAX.

It was the other way around at E.ON. E.ON originated in June 2000 from a merger of the two companies VEBA and VIAG, both of which were among the first companies in the DAX.

Not consistently listed in the DAX

Although the following two companies were among the founding members of the DAX and are also listed in the current DAX, they were not continuously listed in the DAX from 1988 to the present day:

• Commerzbank (not in the DAX from 2018 to 2023)
• Continental (not in the DAX from 1996 to 2003 and from 2008 to 2012)

The Commerzbank was one of the founding members of the DAX and then could hold its own in the DAX for 30 years. In 2018, the Commerzbank flew out of the DAX and was replaced by Wirecard. However, after only 5 years, in 2023, the Commerzbank managed to re-enter the DAX and replaced Linde. Linde is also one of the founding members of the DAX and was listed in the DAX for 35 consecutive years from 1988 to 2023.

Things were more varied at Continental: Continental was also one of the founding members of the DAX, but has in the meantime been relegated to the MDAX twice.

No longer listed in the DAX

The following 15 companies were among the first 30 stocks listed in the DAX, but are no longer part of the DAX:

• Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank (terminated 1998)
• Degussa (today Evonik Industries)
• Deutsche Babcock (insolvent)
• Deutsche Lufthansa (2020 after 32 years in the DAX replaced by Deutsche Wohnen as a result of the corona pandemic)
• Dresdner Bank (today merged with Commerzbank)
• Feldmühle Nobel (1991 terminated)
• Hoechst (till 1999 in the DAX)
• Karstadt (first Arcandor (insolvent), interim KarstadtQuelle, now Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH)
• Kaufhof (first Kaufhof Holding, in the meantime merger with Metro Cash & Carry AG, then Kaufhof Warenhaus AG, then Galeria Kaufhof GmbH, now Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof GmbH)
• MAN (now CDAX)
• Mannesmann (2001 terminated)
• Nixdorf Computer (1990 terminated)
• Linde (withdrawal from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2023)
• Schering (2006 terminated, taken over by Bayer)
• Thyssen (today ThyssenKrupp, 2019 replaced by MTU Aero Engines)

There are many reasons why these companies have left the DAX. Some companies were taken over by others, others became insolvent, were dissolved, left the Frankfurt Stock Exchange or were temporarily or permanently relegated to another lower stock index such as the MDAX or the SDAX.