Which companies have always been in the DAX?

Since July 1, 1988, there is the German stock index DAX, which contains the 30 largest and highest-turnover companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. 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, ten 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
• Linde
• RWE
• Siemens
• Volkswagen

Still in the DAX due to Successor Companies

One other company, which was already represented in the DAX in 1988, was continuously listed in the DAX by successor companies. This joint stock company is:

• Daimler-Benz (today Daimler)

No longer listed in the DAX

The following 18 companies were among the first stocks listed in the DAX, but are no longer part of the DAX:

• Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank (terminated 1998)
• Continental (not continuously in the DAX)
• Commerzbank (for 30 years in the DAX; 2018 replaced by Wirecard)
• 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)
• Kaufhof (now Galeria Kaufhof GmbH)
• MAN (now CDAX)
• Mannesmann (2001 terminated)
• Nixdorf (1990 terminated)
• Schering (2006 terminated, taken over by Bayer)
• Thyssen (today ThyssenKrupp, 2019 replaced by MTU Aero Engines)
• Veba (dissolved into E.ON)
• Viag (dissolved into E.ON together with VEBA)

The reasons for leaving the DAX are manifold. Some companies have been taken over by others, others have gone bankrupt or have gone down in another lower stock index.