Stock splits truly boost share prices—but not for the reason you think.

Other highest-priced stocks in the S&P 500 include Booking Holdings (BKNG), at approximately $2,300; AutoZone (AZO), at around $2,040; Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), at roughly $1,600; and Mettler-Toledo International (MTD), at about $1,350. A typical rationale supporting stock splits is that they make shares more affordable for individual investors—or employees—who might otherwise find high-priced stocks difficult to purchase. For example, consider a company with a $2 billion market capitalization, 1 million shares outstanding, and a share price of $2,000. After a 1-for-10 split, it would have 10 million shares outstanding, each trading at $200, preserving the $2 billion market cap. Pre-split, shareholders would receive nine additional shares for every one share held. An investor previously willing to invest only $200 could now buy one share—and would face a maximum per-share cost of $200 instead of $2,000. Companies aim for a diversified shareholder base comprising both institutional and retail investors—a group whose influence on markets and individual stocks has grown significantly in recent years. Yet this logic matters far less today than it did just a few years ago. Most brokerages now allow investors to purchase fractional shares—i.e., ‘slices’—of individual stocks. Fidelity permits customers to start investing in thousands of U.S. stocks and ETFs with as little as $1. Robinhood users can even buy one-millionth of a single share. An investor can effortlessly acquire $200, $1, $10, or $54.31 worth of a $2,000 stock. A Fidelity spokesperson noted that last year, 2.3 million accounts used fractional-share trading. Moreover, many investors gain exposure via index-tracking ETFs, which already enable them to hold baskets of stocks at costs far below the aggregate price of the underlying securities. At one time, stock splits could disadvantage investors who paid per-share commissions (rather than per-trade commissions). But in today’s zero-commission trading environment—now standard across most brokerages—this drawback has essentially vanished. Options trade in lots of 100 shares, so contracts on high-priced stocks can be prohibitively expensive. Over the past two years, retail participation in options markets has exploded—potentially amplifying this effect. Yet this factor matters more for companies like GameStop than for giants like Amazon or Alphabet. Lower share prices make Amazon and Alphabet more viable candidates for price-weighted indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Though still speculative, Apple joined the Dow in 2015—just one year after executing its 7-for-1 split. Since its 1980 IPO at $22 per share, Apple’s stock has undergone five splits; adjusted for splits, its IPO price was merely $0.10.

How should we interpret the U.S. equity market performance on September 11, 2026?

At market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 52,573.29; the S&P 500 gained 0.86% to 7,656.98; and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.96% to 26,333.04—ending a four-day losing streak for all three indices. Major technology stocks broadly rallied: NVIDIA declined 0.03%, Apple rose 1.75%, Google Class C climbed 1.53%, Microsoft gained 0.65%, Amazon surged 1.94%, SpaceX jumped 2.04%, Meta added 0.57%, and Tesla rose 0.52%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.81%, gaining 0.76% for the week. Of its 30 components, 28 advanced and 2 declined: ON Semiconductor soared 8.51%, Skyworks Solutions rose 5.14%, ARM gained 4.17%, Intel climbed 2.61%, and AMD advanced 2.49%. Memory-related stocks mostly fell: Seagate Technology dropped 3.73%, SanDisk declined 3.5%, Western Digital fell 2.98%, Micron Technology slipped 0.22%, while SK Hynix rose 0.94%. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) gained 0.92%. Optical communications stocks strengthened overall: Coherent surged 4.16%, Marvell Technology rose 4.03%, Astera Labs gained 2.35%, Corning climbed 2.01%, AAOI rose 2.00%, CRDO advanced 1.65%, and Lumentum dipped 0.93%. Computer hardware stocks posted strong gains: Dell Technologies soared 11.98%, HP Inc. rose 8.4%, and Super Micro Computer gained 7.28%. RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage on Dell Technologies with an “Outperform” rating and a $640 price target. Among U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 0.4%—but fell 4.03% for the week. Key Chinese ADRs were mixed: NIO rose 3.07%, TAL Education Group gained 2.7%, New Oriental rose 2.27%, XPeng Inc. climbed 1.93%, Li Auto increased 1.37%, and Tencent Music rose 1.01%.

Sherwin-Williams stock price target lowered to $392 by RBC Capital

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RBC Capital lowered Sherwin-Williams' price target to $392 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing expected fiscal 2026 gains and cost reductions. Despite valuation concerns, the company maintains financial stability with 33 consecutive years of dividend increases.

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Sherwin-Williams stock price target lowered to $392 by RBC Capital

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