Stock Market Sectors: 11 Official GICS Groups

What Are the 11 Stock Market Sectors?

Key Points

Energy sector includes companies involved in oil, gas, and renewable energy production.
Information technology sector focuses on software, cybersecurity, and hardware manufacturing.
Real estate sector features companies developing properties and real estate investment trusts.

A stock market sector is a group of stocks that share many characteristics, usually because they are in similar industries. There are 11 stock market sectors according to the most commonly used classification system, the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).

We categorize stocks into sectors to make it easier to compare companies that operate in similar industries. In this article, we'll dive into the 11 stock market sectors and what investors should know about them.

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An infographic listing the 11 GICS stock market sectors with accompanying representative icons of each. — Image source: The Motley Fool

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2. Materials sector

The materials sector includes companies that supply a range of goods for manufacturing and other applications. You'll find makers of chemicals, construction materials, and containers and packaging within the materials sector, along with mining stocks and companies specializing in making paper and forest products.

Well-known materials stocks include paint maker Sherwin-Williams (SHW +0.02%) and chemicals manufacturer DuPont (DD -0.18%).

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3. Industrials sector

The industrials sector encompasses a wide range of businesses that generally use heavy equipment. Transportation stocks such as airlines, railroads, and logistics companies are found within the industrials sector, as are companies in the aerospace, defense, construction, and engineering industries.

Companies making building products, electrical equipment, and machinery also fall into this sector, as do many conglomerates.

UPS (UPS -1.57%) and RTX (RTX +0.71%) are the largest U.S. industrials stocks.

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4. Utilities sector

The utilities sector encompasses every different type of utility company you can imagine. Within the sector, you'll find utilities specializing in making electrical power available to residential and commercial customers, as well as specialists in natural gas transmission and distribution.

Other utilities are responsible for delivering water to customers. Independent power producers and renewable electricity providers also fall under the utilities sector.

Utilities tend to be regional in scope, so you might have heard of Duke Energy (DUK +0.30%) in the Southeast U.S., Consolidated Edison (ED +1.18%) in the Northeast, and American Electric Power (AEP +0.94%) across much of the Ohio Valley and the Southern Plains states.

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5. Healthcare sector

The healthcare sector has two primary components. One component includes companies that develop biotechnology-based pharmaceuticals and treatments, as well as the analytical tools and supplies needed for the clinical trials that test those treatments.

The other encompasses healthcare equipment and services, including surgical supplies, medical diagnostic tools, and health insurance. Telemedicine is a particularly interesting part of the healthcare sector that falls into the latter category.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH +3.30%) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ +1.39%) are two top healthcare stocks, with a combined market cap of more than $870 billion as of mid-2026.

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6. Financials sector

The financial sector includes businesses primarily involved in handling money. Banks are a key industry group within the sector, but you'll also find insurance companies, brokerage houses, consumer finance providers, and mortgage real estate investment trusts among financials. The financial sector also includes some of the best-known financial technology, or fintech, companies.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) and financial giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM +1.53%) are among the best-known stocks in the financials sector, just to name a couple of examples.

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Fintech

Fintech, short for financial technology, are a variety of software platforms, apps, and hardware solutions that leverage tech to make financial processes easier, more efficient and more profitable.

7. Consumer discretionary sector

The consumer discretionary sector covers goods and services whose demand depends on consumer financial status. In simple terms, consumer discretionary companies sell things people want, not things they need.

The sector includes companies that sell automobiles, luxury goods, and leisure products. You'll find both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce-based retail companies in this category, as well as restaurant stocks.

Amazon (AMZN -1.36%) and McDonald's (MCD +0.20%) are among the biggest stocks in the consumer discretionary sector.

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8. Consumer staples sector

The consumer staples sector includes goods and services that consumers need. The category includes companies in the food, beverage, and tobacco industries, as well as household and personal care products. You'll also find retail companies that specialize in selling staples, such as grocery retailers, in this group.

Coca-Cola (KO +1.93%) and Procter & Gamble (PG +0.82%) are two of the most valuable consumer staples stocks in the U.S. market.

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9. Information technology

Also commonly referred to as the "tech sector," the information technology sector encompasses companies across various categories of technological innovation.

Some companies in information technology focus on creating software or providing services to implement technological solutions, such as cybersecurity, while others are more involved in building the equipment, components, and hardware that make tech possible.

Information technology also includes semiconductor manufacturers and the equipment used to produce semiconductor chips.

Apple (AAPL +0.60%) and Nvidia (NVDA +0.98%) are at the top of the list of large U.S. stocks in the information technology sector.

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10. Communication services sector

The communication services sector is among the newest of the GICS sectors and includes a couple of major areas that used to be part of other sectors. Telecommunication services providers make up one wing of the sector. At the other end are media and entertainment companies, including both older media like television and radio, as well as interactive media via the internet and newer forms of communication.

Social media giant Meta (META +0.48%) and search engine pioneer Alphabet (GOOG -0.94%) (GOOGL -0.41%) are among the biggest stocks in communication services.

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11. Real estate sector

The real estate sector is the newest GICS sector, having formerly been part of the financial sector. It generally includes two types of real estate investments.

Some stocks in the sector are responsible for developing new real estate projects and then managing them by securing tenants for various spaces within the project. In addition, most real estate investment trusts, or REITs (pronounced REETS), which are special tax-favored business entities that operate in various areas of the real estate industry, get counted within the real estate sector.

Among the top stocks in the real estate sector, you'll find cellular communications tower specialist American Tower (AMT +1.25%) and major shopping mall owner and operator Simon Property Group (SPG +1.85%).

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About the Author

Matt Frankel, CFP, is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst specializing in the real estate and financial sectors. Prior to The Motley Fool, Matt taught high school and college mathematics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of South Carolina, a master’s degree in mathematics from Nova Southeastern University, and a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University. He won a SABEW award for coverage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He is also regularly interviewed by Cheddar, Globe St, The National Desk, and other TV networks and publications for his real estate, financial, stock market, and investing expertise.

TMFMattFrankel

@MattFrankelCFP

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Matt Frankel has positions in Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, American Tower, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Simon Property Group, and United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool recommends Duke Energy, Johnson & Johnson, RTX, Sherwin-Williams, and UnitedHealth Group and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $180 calls on American Tower and short January 2026 $185 calls on American Tower. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

What Are the 11 Stock Market Sectors?

Key Points

2. Materials sector

3. Industrials sector

4. Utilities sector

5. Healthcare sector

6. Financials sector

Fintech

7. Consumer discretionary sector

8. Consumer staples sector

9. Information technology

10. Communication services sector

11. Real estate sector

Related investing topics

How to Invest Money: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Good Returns

Student Loans: Everything You Need to Know

How to Invest in Stocks: 7 Steps to Get Started

How Treasury Bonds Work and How to Invest in Them

About the Author

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Investing in stock sectors

Related investing topics

Sector investing

1. Energy sector

2. Materials sector

3. Industrials sector

4. Utilities sector

5. Healthcare sector

6. Financials sector

7. Consumer discretionary sector

8. Consumer staples sector

9. Information technology

10. Communication services sector

11. Real estate sector