Industry Classification Benchmark

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The Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB) is a company classification system developed by Dow Jones and FTSE. It is used to segregate markets into sectors within the macroeconomy. The ICB uses a system of 10 industries, partitioned into 18 supersectors, which are further divided into 39 sectors, which then contain 104 subsectors.[1][2]

The principal aim of the ICB is to categorize individual companies into subsectors based primarily on a company's "source of revenue or where it constitutes the majority of revenue." If a company is equally divided amongst several distinct subsectors, authorities from the Dow Jones and FTSE may be summoned to make a final judgement. Firms may appeal their classification at any time.

The ICB is used globally (though not universally) to divide the market into increasingly specific categories, allowing investors to compare industry trends between well-defined subsectors. The ICB replaced the legacy FTSE and Dow Jones classification systems on 3 January, 2006, and is used today by the NASDAQ, NYSE and several other markets around the globe.

Industry Supersector Sector
Oil & Gas Oil & Gas Oil & Gas Producers
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution
Basic Materials Chemicals Chemicals
Basic Resources Forestry & Paper
Industrial Metals
Mining
Industrials Construction & Materials Construction & Materials
Industrial Goods & Services Aerospace & Defense
General Industrials
Electronic & Electrical Equipment
Industrial Engineering
Industrial Transportation
Support Services
Consumer Goods Automobiles & Parts Automobiles & Parts
Food & Beverage Beverages
Food Producers
Personal & Household Goods Household Goods
Leisure Goods
Personal Goods
Tobacco
Health Care Health Care Health Care Equipment & Services
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology
Consumer Services Retail Food & Drug Retailers
General Retailers
Media Media
Travel & Leisure Travel & Leisure
Telecommunications Telecommunications Fixed Line Telecommunications
Mobile Telecommunications
Utilities Utilities Electricity
Gas, Water & Multiutilities
Financials Banks Banks
Insurance Nonlife Insurance
Life Insurance
Financial Services Real Estate
General Financial
Equity Investment Instruments
Nonequity Investment Instruments
Technology Technology Software & Computer Services
Technology Hardware & Equipment

[edit] References

  1. ^ Industry Classification Benchmark main page
  2. ^ Industry Classification Benchmark structure (pdf)

[edit] See also