Global Industry Classification Standard Explained

The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) is an industry taxonomy developed in 1999 by MSCI and Standard & Poor's (S&P) for use by the global financial community. The GICS structure consists of 11 sectors, 25 industry groups, 74 industries and 163 sub-industries[1] into which S&P has categorized all major public companies. The system is similar to ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark), a classification structure maintained by FTSE Group.

GICS is used as a basis for S&P and MSCI financial market indexes in which each company is assigned to a sub-industry, and to an industry, industry group, and sector, by its principal business activity. "GICS" is a registered trademark of McGraw Hill Financial and MSCI Inc.[2] [3]

Classification

The classification is as follows:

Sector Industry Group IndustrySub-Industry
10Energy1010Energy101010 Energy Equipment & Services10101010 Oil & Gas Drilling
10101020 Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
101020 Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels10102010 Integrated Oil & Gas
10102020 Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
10102030 Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
10102040 Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
10102050 Coal & Consumable Fuels
15Materials1510Materials151010Chemicals15101010 Commodity Chemicals
15101020 Diversified Chemicals
15101030 Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals
15101040 Industrial Gases
15101050 Specialty Chemicals
151020Construction Materials15102010 Construction Materials
151030Containers & Packaging15103010 Metal, Glass & Plastic Containers
15103020 Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials
151040Metals & Mining15104010 Aluminum
15104020 Diversified Metals & Mining
15104025 Copper
15104030 Gold
15104040 Precious Metals & Minerals
15104045 Silver
15104050 Steel
151050Paper & Forest Products15105010 Forest Products
15105020 Paper Products
20Industrials2010Capital Goods201010 Aerospace & Defense20101010 Aerospace & Defense
201020 Building Products20102010 Building Products
201030 Construction & Engineering20103010 Construction & Engineering
201040Electrical Equipment20104010 Electrical Components & Equipment
20104020 Heavy Electrical Equipment
201050 Industrial Conglomerates20105010 Industrial Conglomerates
201060Machinery20106010 Construction Machinery & Heavy Transportation Equipment
20106015 Agricultural & Farm Machinery
20106020 Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
201070 Trading Companies & Distributors20107010 Trading Companies & Distributors
2020Commercial & Professional Services202010Commercial Services & Supplies20201010 Commercial Printing
20201050 Environmental & Facilities Services
20201060 Office Services & Supplies
20201070 Diversified Support Services
20201080 Security & Alarm Services
202020Professional Services20202010 Human Resource & Employment Services
20202020 Research & Consulting Services
20202030 Data Processing & Outsourced Services
2030Transportation203010 Air Freight & Logistics20301010 Air Freight & Logistics
203020 Passenger Airlines20302010 Passenger Airlines
203030 Marine Transportation20303010 Marine Transportation
203040Ground Transportation20304010 Rail Transportation
20304030 Cargo Ground Transportation
20304040 Passenger Ground Transportation
203050Transportation Infrastructure20305010 Airport Services
20305020 Highways & Railtracks
20305030 Marine Ports & Services
25Consumer Discretionary2510Automobiles & Components251010Automobile Components25101010 Automotive Parts & Equipment
25101020 Tires & Rubber
251020Automobiles25102010 Automobile Manufacturers
25102020 Motorcycle Manufacturers
2520Consumer Durables & Apparel252010Household Durables25201010 Consumer Electronics
25201020 Home Furnishings
25201030 Homebuilding
25201040 Household Appliances
25201050 Housewares & Specialties
252020 Leisure Products25202010 Leisure Products
252030Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods25203010 Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods
25203020 Footwear
25203030 Textiles
2530Consumer Services253010Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure25301010 Casinos & Gaming
25301020 Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
25301030 Leisure Facilities
25301040 Restaurants
253020Diversified Consumer Services25302010 Education Services
25302020 Specialized Consumer Services
2550Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail255010 Distributors25501010 Distributors
255030 Broadline Retail25503030 Broadline Retail
255040Specialty Retail25504010 Apparel Retail
25504020 Computer & Electronics Retail
25504030 Home Improvement Retail
25504040 Other Specialty Retail
25504050 Automotive Retail
25504060 Homefurnishing Retail
30Consumer Staples3010Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail301010Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail30101010 Drug Retail
30101020 Food Distributors
30101030 Food Retail
30101040 Consumer Staples Merchandise Retail
3020Food, Beverage & Tobacco302010Beverages30201010 Brewers
30201020 Distillers & Vintners
30201030 Soft Drinks & Non-alcoholic Beverages
302020Food Products30202010 Agricultural Products & Services
30202030 Packaged Foods & Meats
302030 Tobacco30203010 Tobacco
3030Household & Personal Products303010 Household Products30301010 Household Products
303020 Personal Care Products30302010 Personal Care Products
35Health Care3510Health Care Equipment & Services351010Health Care Equipment & Supplies35101010 Health Care Equipment
35101020 Health Care Supplies
351020Health Care Providers & Services35102010 Health Care Distributors
35102015 Health Care Services
35102020 Health Care Facilities
35102030 Managed Health Care
351030 Health Care Technology35103010 Health Care Technology
3520Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences352010 Biotechnology35201010 Biotechnology
352020 Pharmaceuticals35202010 Pharmaceuticals
352030 Life Sciences Tools & Services35203010 Life Sciences Tools & Services
40Financials4010Banks401010Banks40101010 Diversified Banks
40101015 Regional Banks
4020Financial Services402010Financial Services40201020 Diversified Financial Services
40201030 Multi-Sector Holdings
40201040 Specialized Finance
40201050 Commercial & Residential Mortgage Finance
40201060 Transaction & Payment Processing Services
402020 Consumer Finance40202010 Consumer Finance
402030Capital Markets40203010 Asset Management & Custody Banks
40203020 Investment Banking & Brokerage
40203030 Diversified Capital Markets
40203040 Financial Exchanges & Data
402040 Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)40204010 Mortgage REITs
4030Insurance403010Insurance40301010 Insurance Brokers
40301020 Life & Health Insurance
40301030 Multi-line Insurance
40301040 Property & Casualty Insurance
40301050 Reinsurance
45Information Technology4510Software & Services
451020IT Services45102010 IT Consulting & Other Services
45102030Internet Services & Infrastructure
451030Software45103010 Application Software
45103020 Systems Software
4520Technology Hardware & Equipment452010 Communications Equipment45201020 Communications Equipment
452020 Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals45202030 Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
452030Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components45203010 Electronic Equipment & Instruments
45203015 Electronic Components
45203020 Electronic Manufacturing Services
45203030 Technology Distributors
4530Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment453010Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment45301010 Semiconductor Materials & Equipment
45301020 Semiconductors
50Communication Services5010Telecommunication Services501010Diversified Telecommunication Services50101010 Alternative Carriers
50101020 Integrated Telecommunication Services
501020 Wireless Telecommunication Services50102010 Wireless Telecommunication Services
5020Media & Entertainment502010Media50201010 Advertising
50201020 Broadcasting
50201030 Cable & Satellite
50201040 Publishing
502020Entertainment50202010 Movies & Entertainment
50202020 Interactive Home Entertainment
502030 Interactive Media & Services50203010 Interactive Media & Services
55Utilities5510Utilities551010 Electric Utilities55101010 Electric Utilities
551020 Gas Utilities55102010 Gas Utilities
551030 Multi-Utilities55103010 Multi-Utilities
551040 Water Utilities55104010 Water Utilities
551050Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers55105010 Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders
55105020 Renewable Electricity
60Real Estate6010Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)601010 Diversified REITs60101010 Diversified REITs
601025 Industrial REITs60102510 Industrial REITs
601030 Hotel & Resort REITs60103010 Hotel & Resort REITs
601040 Office REITs60104010 Office REITs
601050 Health Care REITs60105010 Health Care REITs
601060Residential REITs60106010 Multi-Family Residential REITs
60106020 Single-Family Residential REITs
601070 Retail REITs60107010 Retail REITs
601080Specialized REITs60108010 Other Specialized REITs
60108020 Self-Storage REITs
60108030 Telecom Tower REITs
60108040 Timber REITs
60108050 Data Center REITs
6020Real Estate Management & Development602010Real Estate Management & Development60201010 Diversified Real Estate Activities
60201020 Real Estate Operating Companies
60201030 Real Estate Development
60201040 Real Estate Services
Per the MSCI World index, Information Technology is the biggest sector, with 22% of world capitalisation.

Revisions

The classification standard is regularly updated by S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI. Numerous changes over the years have resulted in the addition, deletion, or redefinition of various sub-industries, industries, or industry groups.[4] Since 1999, there have been two revisions at the sector level:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICSĀ®). 2023-03-21.
  2. Web site: MSCI-Barra GICS Tables . 2013-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140326094518/http://www.msci.com/products/indices/sector/gics/ . 2014-03-26 . dead .
  3. Web site: MSCI-Barra GICS Sector Definitions . 2013-02-10 . PDF . https://web.archive.org/web/20140326094518/http://www.msci.com/products/indices/sector/gics/ . 2014-03-26 . dead .
  4. Web site: Archived copy . 2015-01-25 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150211031822/http://www.msci.com/resources/pdfs/GICS_Consultation2015.pdf . 2015-02-11 .
  5. Web site: S&P Dow Jones Indices and MSCI Announce Further Revisions to the Global Industry Classification Standard Structure in 2016. 28 Dec 2018. pdf.
  6. Web site: Revisions to the Global Industry Classification Standard Structure in 2018. 28 Dec 2018. pdf.
  7. Web site: REVISIONS TO THE GLOBAL INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION STANDARD (GICSĀ®) STRUCTURE EFFECTIVE MARCH, 2023. 21 Mar 2023. pdf.