GICS, the Global Industry Classification Standard, is a system created by MSCI and S&P Dow Jones Indices that sorts listed companies by their main source of revenue. It has four levels: 11 sectors, then industry groups, industries and sub-industries. The 11 sectors are Energy, Materials, Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Health Care, Financials, Information Technology, Communication Services, Utilities and Real Estate. Real Estate became its own sector in 2016 and Communication Services was created in 2018. FTSE Russell publishes a different system, ICB, which is the other common classification.
Worked example
Say a portfolio holds 10,000 in total: 6,000 in a software company (Information Technology), 2,000 in a bank (Financials) and 2,000 in a drugmaker (Health Care). Share in each sector = amount in the sector ÷ total. Information Technology = 6,000 ÷ 10,000 = 60%, Financials = 2,000 ÷ 10,000 = 20%, Health Care = 2,000 ÷ 10,000 = 20%. Three companies sit in three sectors, but 60% of the money depends on one of them, which is a question to look into.
Why it matters
Sectors give every company a place to be compared. A ratio such as the P/E or the debt level means little until you know the sector: banks run on borrowed money by design, while a software firm with the same debt would look very different. A sector label also shows how concentrated your holdings are. The pitfall is that GICS places a company by its main revenue source, so a conglomerate sits in one box even if it earns money in several, and two providers can file the same company under different sectors.
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Frequently asked questions
There are 11 sectors. Real Estate was split out as its own sector in 2016 and Communication Services was added in 2018, so older lists show fewer, and some older sources still name a Telecommunication Services sector.
No. ICB, published by FTSE Russell, is the other common system and uses different names and boundaries. Some markets also have their own national classifications, so the same company can sit in a different group depending on the provider.
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Built & maintained by Worthmap · Last updated November 1, 2026
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