From 19 December 2022, Porsche will be included in the German Share Index, more commonly referred to by its German acronym, the DAX.

The DAX is effectively the German equivalent of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Both are an index of the most valuable publicly traded companies in their respective countries. In Germany, the leading index consists of 40 stocks evaluated according to market capitalization and revenue.

This upgrade comes just three months after Porsche's successful Initial Public Offering (IPO), which immediately made it the most valuable carmaker in Europe. Porsche's IPO was the second-largest in German history and went as high as $83.4 billion during the first week.

Porsche's worth has since gone down and has been hovering in the high $50 billion range since the beginning of October.

However, Porsche's current worth is not why it was awarded a fast-track entry into the DAX. The upgrade comes courtesy of the market capitalization of the free float. The free float is the percentage of shares in public hands, not those held by companies, governments, or controlling investors.

That means the holding firm created by the Piech and Porsche families is not included. Volkswagen sold the family 25% plus one share, so they'd have a blocking minority share.

The overall share capital totals 911 million shares, which Porsche planned as a nod to its most famous car, the 911.

These shares were split into two, and 455.5 million shares were designated ordinary, while another 455.5 million were given preferred status. A preferred share comes with more rights than an ordinary share, though all shareholders in Porsche have the right to vote.

By getting its name on the DAX, Porsche joins esteemed companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Bayer, Airbus, Adidas, and the Deutsche Bank.

"Our fast entry into the DAX underscores two things," said Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche. "First: our business model is robust and attractive to investors, even in a challenging environment. Second: our definition of modern luxury is convincing, in focusing on sustainability and in assuming social responsibility."