9 GICS Sectors

The GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Stock Market Sectors. Sectors are broad classifications of companies that describe a part of the economy. Knowing which sectors are in a BULL or BEAR cycle will help give you clues as to how the stocks/ETFs within those sectors will perform. A useful technique to track how sectors are performing relative to the S&P is to compare all the ETFs on one chart using percent gain as your axis against the S&P (SPY).

Sectors should not be confused with industries as a sector is much broader. For example, Consumer Discretionary is a very broad sector that includes Amazon (AMZN) and Ford (F), but these companies compete in two very different industries – ecommerce retail and automobiles. Other things to note is while there is a sector for Real Estate, it doesn’t include companies like home builders (D.R. Horton, KB Homes); the companies are also considered Consumer Discretionary. Real Estate as defined by the sectors below is more commercial which includes outlet centers and REITS.

Communication Services

Telecommunications, Media, Internet

XLC

Consumer Discretionary

E-Commerce, Hotel, Restaurants

XLY

Consumer Staples

Necessities (Food, Beverage)

XLP

Energy

Oil and Natural Gas, Producers

XLE

Financials

Banks, Brokerages, Mortgage Services

XLF

Healthcare

Pharma, Biotech, Health Insurance

XLV

Industrials

Transportation, Aerospace, Engineering

XLI

Information Technology (IT)

Software, Hardware, Semiconductors

XLK

Materials

Chemicals, Construction Materials

XLB

Real Estate

Commercial (outlets, REITS)

XLRE

Utilities

Electric Providers, Renewables

XLU