DAX facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
DAX

Foundation	1 July 1988
Operator	STOXX (Qontigo, Deutsche Börse)
Exchanges	Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Constituents	40 (expanded from 30 in 2021)
Type	Large cap
Market cap	€1,245 billion (7 May 2021)
Weighting method	Capitalization-weighted
Related indices	MDAX, SDAX, TecDAX, ÖkoDAX
Website	DAX homepage

The DAX (which stands for Deutscher Aktienindex, meaning "German stock index") is a special number that shows how well the 40 biggest and most important German companies are doing in the stock market. These companies are like the "star players" of the German economy, often called blue chip companies. They trade their shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany.

Think of the DAX as a report card for these top companies. It helps people see if these big businesses are growing or shrinking. The DAX also includes the money companies pay out to their shareholders, called dividends. This means it shows the total return someone would get if they invested in these companies. The prices used for the DAX come from a fast electronic trading system called Xetra.

The DAX started on 30 December 1987, with a starting value of 1,000 points. Since 2006, the Xetra system updates the DAX value every second. In 2021, the DAX grew from including 30 companies to 40 companies. This change was made to make the index even stronger and more reliable.

Understanding the DAX

The DAX has two main ways of showing its value. These are like different ways to look at the same thing.

Performance Index

This is the most common way people talk about the DAX. It shows the total return of the companies. This means it includes not only how much the company's shares are worth, but also any money they pay out to their investors (called dividends). So, if a company does well and pays dividends, the performance index goes up more.

Price Index

This version of the DAX only looks at the price of the company shares. It does not include dividends. This is similar to how many other stock indexes around the world are calculated.

DAX Record Values

The DAX has reached some very high points over the years. These record values show how much the index has grown.

Companies in the DAX

The DAX is made up of 40 important German companies. These companies come from many different industries, like cars, technology, chemicals, and finance. They are chosen because they are large and actively traded on the stock market.

Here is a list of the companies that are part of the DAX 40:

Logo	Company	Prime Standard Sector	Ticker	Index weighting (%)	Employees	Founded
	Adidas	Apparel	ADS.DE	2.0	061,401 (2021)	1924
	Airbus	Aerospace & Defence	AIR.DE	6.0	126.495 (2021)	1970
	Allianz	Financial Services	ALV.DE	7.1	155,411 (2021)	1890
	BASF	Chemicals	BAS.DE	3.5	111,047 (2021)	1865
	Bayer	Pharmaceuticals	BAYN.DE	4.8	099,637 (2021)	1863
	Beiersdorf	Consumer goods	BEI.DE	0.9	020,567 (2021)	1882
	BMW	Automotive	BMW.DE	2.5	118,909 (2021)	1916
	Brenntag	Distribution	BNR.DE	0.9	017,200 (2021)	1874
	Commerzbank	Financial Services	CBK.DE	0.8	040,181 (2021)	1870
	Continental	Automotive	CON.DE	0.6	190,875 (2021)	1871
	Covestro	Chemicals	1COV.DE	0.6	017,909 (2021)	2015
	Daimler Truck	Automotive	DTG.DE	1.1	099,849 (2021)	2021
	Deutsche Bank	Financial Services	DBK.DE	1.6	082,969 (2021)	1870
	Deutsche Börse	Financial Services	DB1.DE	2.7	010,200 (2021)	1992
	Deutsche Post	Logistics	DHL.DE	3.4	592,263 (2021)	1995
	Deutsche Telekom	Telecommunication	DTE.DE	6.5	216,528 (2021)	1995
	E.ON	Utilities	EOAN.DE	1.9	078,126 (2021)	2000
	Fresenius	Healthcare	FRE.DE	0.8	316,078 (2021)	1912
	Hannover Re	Insurance	HNR1.DE	0.8	003,346 (2021)	1966
	Heidelberg Materials	Construction Materials	HEI.DE	0.7	051,209 (2021)	1874
	Henkel	Consumer Goods	HEN3.DE	0.9	052,450 (2021)	1876
	Infineon Technologies	Technology	IFX.DE	3.9	050,280 (2021)	1999
	Mercedes-Benz Group	Automotive	MBG.DE	4.8	172,000 (2021)	1926
	Merck	Pharmaceuticals	MRK.DE	1.8	008,081 (2021)	1668
	MTU Aero Engines	Aerospace & Defence	MTX.DE	1.0	010,833 (2022)	1934
	Munich Re	Financial Services	MUV2.DE	3.6	040,177 (2022)	1880
	Porsche	Automotive	P911.DE	1.1	036,996 (2021)	1931
	Porsche SE	Automotive	PAH3.DE	0.6	000,882 (2021)	2007
	Qiagen	Biotech	QIA.DE	0.8	005,900 (2021)	1984
	Rheinmetall	Aerospace & Defence	RHM.DE		025.486 (2022)	1889
	RWE	Utilities	RWE.DE	2.2	018,246 (2021)	1898
	SAP	Technology	SAP.DE	10.1	107,415 (2021)	1972
	Sartorius	Medical Technology	SRT3.DE	0.8	018,832 (2021)	1870
	Siemens	Industrials	SIE.DE	9.0	303,000 (2021)	1847
	Siemens Energy	Energy technology	ENR.DE	0.7	092,000 (2021)	2020
	Siemens Healthineers	Medical Equipment	SHL.DE	1.2	066,000 (2021)	2020
	Symrise	Chemicals	SY1.DE	1.1	011,276 (2021)	2003
	Volkswagen Group	Automotive	VOW3.DE	2.4	672,800 (2021)	1937
	Vonovia	Real Estate	VNA.DE	1.1	015,900 (2022)	2001
	Zalando	E-Commerce	ZAL.DE	0.7	017,000 (2021)	2008

: Weightings as of 23 March 2023

Former DAX Companies

Companies can be added to or removed from the DAX. This happens if a company becomes very big and important, or if it gets smaller, merges with another company, or faces other changes. Here are some companies that used to be part of the DAX:

Images for kids

• 

  The DAX 30 chart at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

• 

  A BMW Z4 sports car

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  The RWE-owned Niederaussem Power Station

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  The headquarters of DAX companies in 2013

See also

In Spanish: DAX para niños

Stock market lists

• List of stock exchanges
• List of European stock exchanges

Other lists

• List of largest German companies

Other stock market indices

• List of stock market indices
• CDAX, every listed German company
• HDAX, union of DAX, MDAX and TecDAX (similar to the FTSE 100 or the S&P 100)
• MDAX, the next 50 largest companies after the DAX
• SDAX, the next 70 largest companies after the MDAX
• ÖkoDAX, top 10 companies in renewable energy
• TecDAX, top 30 companies trading in the "new economy"