CoStar Group said Monday it has been selected for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index, effective prior to the opening of trading on Sept. 19.
Widely recognized as one of the premier benchmarks of the U.S. equities market, the S&P 500 is composed of 500 leading companies across important industries of the U.S. Companies included in the index are selected by the S&P Index Committee using criteria that include market capitalization, liquidity and consistent, positive earnings.
“It is a great honor to be selected for inclusion in the S&P 500 index,” said Andrew C. Florance, founder and chief executive officer of CoStar Group. “For 36 years CoStar Group has been committed to digitizing the world’s real estate, empowering all people to discover properties, insights, and connections that improve their businesses and lives. Today, we have more than 25 brands under the CoStar Group umbrella serving hundreds of thousands of customers around the globe.”
CoStar Group was founded by Florance in his college dorm room in 1986 based on his vision to digitize the real estate asset class. From its humble beginnings as a startup operation, CoStar Group now employs more than 5,200 people across 14 countries around the world. The company became publicly traded via an initial public offering in 1998, raising $23 million. Most recently, CoStar Group revenue for the 12 months that ended June 30 was over $2 billion, with a market capitalization of $31.05 billion as of Friday.
“I am incredibly proud of this achievement, which would not have been possible without all of the hard work and dedication of our world-class team,” added Florance. “Our talented people, both past and present, are the foundation upon which CoStar Group was built. I also would like to thank our hundreds of thousands of customers around the world — many of whom have supported CoStar Group for decades — for their ongoing trust and partnership. Joining the S&P 500 is a validation of the faith that they have placed in our company, our team, our products, and our services.”