Amazon (AMZN +0.21%) tops the list of the largest consumer discretionary companies, followed by Tesla (TSLA +0.73%) and Alibaba Group (BABA -0.52%). This market sector's leaders include e-commerce companies, automakers, retailers, and restaurants, but it's dominated by Amazon and Tesla.
Largest companies by market cap in the consumer discretionary sector
(Editor's note: Rankings are as of Feb. 4, 2025.)
1. Amazon
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $2.49 trillion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $691.3 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $346.0 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 7.46%
- Year founded: 1994
TTM = trailing 12 months.
Originally an online bookstore, Amazon is now the world's most successful e-commerce company. Its streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, is available to more than 200 million Amazon Prime members. It owns Whole Foods Market; Twitch, a video game streaming service; and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world's largest cloud infrastructure provider.
Since 2023, Amazon has been embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which alleges that Amazon took part in anticompetitive practices. A judge dismissed some of the FTC's claims in September 2024, but the remainder of the case is ongoing.
2. Tesla
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $1.52 trillion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $94.8 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $17.1 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 8.29%
- Year founded: 2003
Tesla is the second-largest manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), behind only BYD (BYDDY -0.67%) in China. It has released several popular cars, most notably the Model Y. It also offers the Tesla Supercharger network and the Destination Charging network.
In January 2026, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla would end production of the Model S and X. The decision is part of a shift to focus more on Tesla Optimus humanoid robots.
3. Alibaba Group
NYSE: BABA
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $402.00 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $145.9 billion*
- Gross profit (TTM): $60.1 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: -8.38%
- Year founded: 1999
*Converted from Chinese yuan.
Alibaba is an e-commerce company that originally focused on business-to-business (B2B) sales. It later expanded to business-to-consumer (B2C) and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales, eventually becoming the largest e-commerce company in China.
In addition to online retail, Alibaba has branched out into financial services, media, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has an AI model, known as Qwen, and an AI assistant tool called Quark.
4. Home Depot
NYSE: HD
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $385.35 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $166.2 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $55.4 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 9.07%
- Year founded: 1978
Home Depot (HD -1.09%) operates home improvement stores, with more than 2,300 locations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It sells building materials and home improvement products, and offers tool and equipment rentals.
Home Depot serves both DIY and professional customers. In 2024, it acquired SRS Distribution to expand its offerings for professional contractors. In 2025, it won a bidding war to buy GMS (NYSE:GMS), a construction materials company, for $5.5 billion.
5. Toyota
NYSE: TM
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $316.14 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $314.7 billion*
- Gross profit (TTM): $56.6 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: 12.48%
- Year founded: 1937
*Converted from Japanese yen.
In terms of production, Toyota (TM -0.79%) is the world's top automaker, producing more than 10 million new vehicles per year. Toyota's lineup includes cars, trucks, SUVs, hybrids, and EVs. Its bestselling vehicle is the Toyota Camry. Other popular vehicles include the Corolla, Tacoma, 4Runner, and the RAV4.
6. McDonald's
NYSE: MCD
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $230.80 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $26.3 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $15.1 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 11.16%
- Year founded: 1940 (original restaurant chain), 1955 (McDonald's Corporation)
An iconic fast food chain, McDonald's (MCD +0.82%) has more than 40,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. That makes it the second-largest fast food company by number of locations.
McDonald's gets its name from Richard and Maurice McDonald, who founded the company in 1940. Businessman Ray Kroc partnered with the brothers in 1954 and convinced them to start franchising. Kroc purchased the business in 1961.
7. The TJX Companies
8. Lowe's Companies
NYSE: LOW
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $154.72 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $84.3 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $28.3 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 11.76%
- Year founded: 1921
In business for more than a century, Lowe's (LOW -1.54%) was once the largest home improvement retailer in the U.S. It's currently second to Home Depot, with more than 1,700 locations across the U.S. Lowe's previously operated internationally before shutting down operations in Australia, Mexico, and Canada.
Like Home Depot, Lowe's serves homeowners and professional contractors. Products include building materials, tools, appliances, and lawn and garden equipment.
8. Booking Holdings
NASDAQ: BKNG
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $149.32 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $26.0 billion
- Gross profit (TTM): $22.7 billion
- Five-year annualized return: 17.78%
- Year founded: 1996
Booking Holdings (BKNG -6.80%) is a leader in the travel industry. It owns several well-known online travel agencies (OTAs), including Booking.com, Priceline, Kayak, and Agoda. It also owns OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation service.
Thanks to its massive brand portfolio, Booking Holdings booked more than 1 billion room nights in 2024. It also facilitated 49 million flight tickets and 83 million rental car days. Booking Holdings makes most of its revenue through commissions it charges on reservations.
10. PDD Holdings
NASDAQ: PDD
Key Data Points
- Market cap: $144.99 billion (as of Feb. 4)
- Revenue (TTM): $60.3 billion*
- Gross profit (TTM): $34.2 billion*
- Five-year annualized return: -12.13%
- Year founded: 2015
*Converted from Chinese yuan.
PDD Holdings (PDD -0.84%) is a Chinese holding company that owns multiple e-commerce businesses. The most notable businesses in its portfolio are Temu and Pinduoduo. They're both online discount marketplaces, with Temu focusing more on international business and Pinduoduo on customers in China.
In 2023, PDD Holdings moved its legal domicile from China to Ireland. The move coincided with a marketing push to build Temu's brand in the U.S. While Temu had become popular with U.S. consumers, the Trump administration's tariffs on China heavily affected its business.
Consumer discretionary sector takeaways for investors
As the largest consumer discretionary companies demonstrate, a strong brand is extremely valuable in this market sector. Several of the businesses on this list have well-established brand names that most consumers would immediately recognize.
Investors should look for companies that have carved out success in a specific niche, such as Tesla's dominance in the electric vehicle market or TJX Companies' leadership in off-price retail. Another way to find winning consumer discretionary stocks is to go with companies that have cornered the market, such as Amazon and McDonald's.
Trump's tariffs, although currently under legal challenge, made 2025 a turbulent time for consumer discretionary companies. Economic uncertainty and higher prices can lead to lower discretionary spending, and some companies on this list are based in China or sell Chinese products. There are sound investments in this sector, but investors may want to be prepared for more volatility than usual.
Related investing topics
FAQ
Consumer Discretionary Companies FAQ
About the Author
Lyle Daly has positions in Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Booking Holdings, Home Depot, TJX Companies, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group, BYD Company, and Lowe's Companies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
