General information
We use the S&P sectors to sort the companies into 11 different sectors. These sectors are known as the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The GICS was created in 1999 by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). It is used by the majority of the professional investment management community. More than 95% of the world’s listed market capitalization has been classified by GICS.
The GICS sorts companies into sectors based on their primary business activity. Multiple factors are considered, such as a company’s main source of revenue, earnings analysis and market perception. The GICS uses a refined system to sort companies into 11 sectors. These are further divided into 24 industry groups, then into 68 industries, and finally into 157 sub-industries. For the purpose of the database, we only use the 11 fundamental sectors.
Sector - Consumer Staples
Consumer staples are the necessities of life, such as food, drinks, household products and personal products. You buy these products on your weekly trips to the store. Companies that fall under this category produce or distribute food, alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. Distributors of medication also fall under this category, as well as manufacturers of tobacco and tobacco products and producers of detergent, diapers, soap, cosmetics and perfume.
Examples of companies in this sector are big names like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, British American Tobacco plc and Heineken.
