All companies belonging to a sector. Microsoft, for instance, operates in the Technology sector. While a sector may have relatively weak returns, a specific company in that ‘weak’ sector could still be more profitable than poor-performing companies in ‘stronger’ sectors.
There are 11 stock market sectors (GICS)
Sector |
Market Cap |
| Information Technology | 13.77T |
| Financials | $8.82T |
| Consumer Discretionary | $8.69T |
| Healthcare | $7.67T |
| Communication Services | $6.30T |
| Industrials | $6.25T |
| Consumer Staples | $4.56T |
| Materials | $2.91T |
| Energy | $2.74T |
| Real Estate | $1.60T |
| Utilities | $1.60T |
Explanation of the sectors
Information technology
IT – sector includes: Internet companies and technology products. Computers, electronic equipment, data processing, communication equipment, IT services, processors, and operating systems.
Health services
The health sector includes medical supply companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices, cannabis, and marijuana.
Financials
The financial sector includes banks, credit card issuers, credit unions, insurance companies, and real estate investment trusts (REIT).
Consumer Discretionary
The consumer discretion sector includes luxury cars, jewelry, clothing, sports products, electronic devices, household products, luxury tours, hotels, and restaurants.
Communication Services
The communication services sector includes Internet providers and providers of telephone, media, entertainment, and interactive media services and services.
Industrials
The industrials sector includes insurance companies, airlines, railways, manufacturers of military weapons, aerospace, and security, and construction and engineering.
Consumer Staples
The consumer staples sector includes food, beverages, and tobacco, household product suppliers and personal product suppliers, and supermarkets.
Energy
The energy sector includes oil, gas, coal, and fuel companies including companies that find, drill, and produce.
Utilities
The Utility sector includes electricity, water, and gas for buildings and households.
Real Estate
The real estate sector includes investment trustees (REITs), apartments, malls, offices, and living communities as well as realtors and other companies.
Materials
The materials sector mainly includes chemicals, precious metals, and mining, building materials, packaging, metals, and paper companies.