Cisco Replaces GM On The Dow

Cisco Systems will be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing struggling auto maker General Motors.

Cisco's inclusion comes as GM on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection amid slumping auto sales and a weak economy. According to the Dow Jones, bankruptcy filing immediately disqualifies a stock.

The changes will be put into effect at the opening of trading on June 8.

The San Jose, Calif.-based networking powerhouse joins a wide swath of IT companies already dominating the Dow, including HP, IBM, Intel and Microsoft. AT&T and Verizon Communications also hold spots on the Dow.

"Cisco is honored to be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average," Cisco said in a statement. "We believe our inclusion in the Dow demonstrates not only Cisco's role as a broad technology indicator, but how remarkably the Internet and networking have transformed the way businesses and consumers connect, communicate and collaborate."

The Dow Jones comprises 30 stocks that act as a barometer of Wall Street. Changes rarely occur on the index. For example, at 83 years, GM was the second longest running stock listed on the Dow, holding its spot since 1925. General Electric is the only company to hold a spot on the Dow Jones Industrial Average longer than GM.

Along with replacing GM with Cisco, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday said it will also remove Citigroup and replace it with Travelers Companies.

In a statement, Robert Thomson, editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief for all of Dow Jones, said Cisco was added to the index "because its communications and computer-networking products are vital to an economy and culture still adapting to the Information Age -- just as automobiles were essential to America in the 20th century."

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