The companies that make up the CAC 40 in 2021

What does the French CAC 40 index reflect?

First of all, let's take a moment to recall what the French CAC 40 index is all about. It is a basket of 40 French companies. The composition of this index is determined by the choice of 40 companies from among the 100 companies with the highest trading volume. It is also important to understand that each company in the index has a predefined weighting in relation to its total market capitalisation on the NYSE Euronext market. It is also important to note that the maximum weight of a single stock's capitalisation in this market index is 15%.

Of course, the stocks included in this index are selected to best represent the French economy and therefore come from all sectors of activity. This representativeness is important and therefore requires continuous updating of this composition, which explains why, from one year to the next, the companies included in this index will change.

More precisely, it is the NYSE Euronext Scientific Council that is responsible for determining which stocks can enter or leave the composition of this index. This council is made up of experts who are independent of the stock exchange operator to ensure objectivity. A meeting is held every three months on a permanent basis, but also on an ad hoc basis when an important financial event occurs, such as after a merger between two companies. As we will see in more detail below, the elements used to select the stocks included in this index are both the volume of transactions in the company's share and its representativeness in its sector of activity.

Company ranking

To better interpret the composition of the CAC 40 stock market index, you must take into account the total market capitalisation of the companies that make up the index. Here is the complete list of companies in the index from the largest to the smallest capitalisation as of 12 October 2021:

• The LVMH group with a total market capitalisation of 318.96 billion euros
• The L'Oréal group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 197.97 billion
• The Hermes International group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 129.69 billion
• The TotalEnergies group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 115.39 billion
• The Sanofi Group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 105.99 billion
• The Airbus Group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 88.37 billion
• The Kering group with a total market capitalisation of 78.72 billion euros
• The Schneider Electric group with a total market capitalisation of 78.70 billion euros
• The BNP Paribas group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 71.24 billion
• The Essilor Luxottica group with a total market capitalisation of 70.50 billion euros
• The Air Liquide group with a total market capitalisation of 65.22 billion euros
• The Dassault Systems group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 58.26 billion
• The AXA group with a total market capitalisation of 57.74 billion euros
• The Vinci group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 53.61 billion
• The Stellantis group with a total market capitalisation of 52.5 billion euros
• The Pernod Ricard group with a total market capitalisation of €51.59 billion
• The Safran group with a total market capitalisation of 48.19 billion euros
• The Crédit Agricole group with a total market capitalisation of €39.06 billion
• The Danone group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 38.96 billion
• The STMicroelectronics group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 32.57 billion
• The Saint-Gobain group with a total market capitalisation of 31.76 billion euros
• The Capgemini group with a total market capitalisation of 29.43 billion euros
• The Engie group with a total market capitalisation of 28.08 billion euros
• The ArcelorMittal group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 25.64 billion
• The Orange group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 25.05 billion
• The Société Générale group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 24.05 billion
• The Legrand group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 23.95 billion
• The Michelin Group with a total market capitalisation of €23.27 billion
• The Eurofins Scientific group with a total market capitalisation of €20.39 billion
• The Teleperformance Group with a total market capitalisation of €19.78 billion
• The Worldline Group with a total market capitalisation of €18.45 billion
• The Veolia Group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 18.35 billion
• The Thales group with a total market capitalisation of 17.85 billion euros
• The Publicis group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 14.35 billion
• The Bouygues group with a total market capitalisation of EUR 13.1 billion
• The Vivendi group with a total market capitalisation of 12.24 billion euros
• The Carrefour group with a total market capitalisation of 12.16 billion euros
• The Alstom group with a total market capitalisation of 11.42 billion euros
• The Renault group with a total market capitalisation of €9.62 billion
• The Unibail Rodamco group with a total market capitalisation of 8.71 billion euros

Of course, the list we have just presented is likely to change over time and corresponds to the composition of this index in October 2021.

Selection criteria

As explained above, the 40 companies that are chosen to be included in the CAC 40 are selected from among the 100 French companies with the highest trading volumes.

However, in order to be included in this index, listed companies must of course meet certain financial conditions, such as stock liquidity, market capitalisation and significant daily trading in shares. It should also be noted that the free float, i.e. the proportion of the company's shares that can be traded on the market, is also a criterion taken into account in this decision. Indeed, the weight of a company in the index will be proportional to its free float.

Of course, once all these criteria have been established, it is the board of experts that is responsible for modifying or not the composition of the index every three months. When a company leaves the CAC 40, it is logically replaced by another, which is most often chosen from the CAC Next 20 index.

Historically, certain stocks have been included in this index since its creation in 1987. These include Air Liquide, Carrefour, Danone, L'Oréal, LVMH, Michelin, Saint-Gobain, Sanofi, Société Générale and Vivendi.

Can we rely on the CAC 40 to analyse the health of the French economy?

In reality, the CAC 40 is not a true reflection of the French economy because some sectors are over-represented. This is particularly true of the finance sector, which alone accounts for nearly 16% of the index, and the luxury goods sector, which accounts for 11.4% of the CAC 40 index.

It is also worth noting that the vast majority of the 40 companies that make up this index are also multinationals that generate a large part of their turnover outside the French market. For example, Sanofi and Total generate only a quarter of their turnover in Western Europe and only 10% at most in France. This is also the case for LVMH and L'Oréal, which are also two heavyweights in this index and which only generate less than 12% of their turnover in France. However, these companies have a very high weighting in the calculation of the CAC 40 stock market index, which does not really reflect the French economy as such.

However, it is interesting to know these stocks because it is possible to trade them individually online on a CFD trading platform.

Frequently Asked Questions