After S&P Dow Jones Indices removed two well-known names from the S&P 500 on June 22, mechanical index selling created short-term price pressure on both stocks.
The two companies shown the door were The Campbell’s Company (NASDAQ: CPB) and Pool Corporation (NASDAQ: POOL), both replaced by semiconductor and electronics names in the reshuffle.
The removal reflects how far the S&P 500 has tilted toward technology, pushing out legacy consumer and industrial businesses regardless of their underlying financial health.
Both companies now sit in the S&P SmallCap 600, meaning they remain active, publicly traded businesses that simply carry less index-driven visibility than before.
Campbell’s has attracted income-focused attention due to a dividend yield that currently sits north of 7%, a level reached as the share price fell under sustained pressure.
The company has maintained its dividend for 51 consecutive years, with a payout ratio of roughly 76% of earnings, supported by what the source describes as even healthier cash-flow coverage.
One key growth asset is the Rao’s brand, which crossed $1 billion in trailing-12-month net sales, and in May 2026 Campbell’s deepened its commitment by acquiring a 49% stake in La Regina, the Italian producer behind Rao’s sauces.
Production remains rooted in Scafati, Italy, preserving the artisanal identity that built Rao’s into a premium brand commanding strong consumer loyalty and pricing power.
The honest limitation for Campbell’s is dividend growth, with the payout expanding just 1.26% over five years, making it a high-yield, low-growth income story rather than a compounding vehicle.
Pool Corp. tells a different story, with a current yield of around 2.4% that is less about present income and more about a 22-year consecutive streak of annual dividend increases.
Over the past decade, Pool Corp. has grown its dividend at roughly 17% per year, making it one of the more consistent dividend growth records in the broader market.
The company’s business distributes pool supplies, equipment, and chemicals to wholesale buyers and professional contractors, with approximately 60% of revenue tied to maintenance and repair activity.
That recurring maintenance revenue provides a degree of resilience regardless of whether the housing market is running hot or cooling off at any given time.
First-quarter 2026 net sales rose 6% and operating income climbed 7%, signaling that the recovery in discretionary pool spending is continuing to build momentum after stalling post-pandemic.
Pool Corp.’s proprietary platform, Pool360, now accounts for 13% of net sales and is growing, adding a digital efficiency layer that strengthens the company’s long-term operational position.
The key risk for Pool Corp. remains its sensitivity to housing market activity and consumer confidence, particularly if elevated interest rates continue to push homeowners away from big-ticket outdoor projects.
For Campbell’s, ongoing headwinds including weaker volumes, costs tied to the 2024 Sovos Brands acquisition, and an ERP system conversion have weighed on the stock over the past year.
Both removals were driven by index mechanics rather than deteriorating business fundamentals, a distinction that patient, research-driven investors may find worth examining closely.
