Consumer Discretionary Sector: Industries Snapshot

Consumer discretionaries are important because they show the strength of the economy. In total, consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the United States gross domestic product (GDP). When the economy is growing, consumer discretionaries sell more products and services. When an economy is growing, it is usually expected that consumers will have more disposable income to spend on discretionary items.

Individual stocks offer investors the chance to outperform market indexes like the S&P 500, but they come with some major risks and drawbacks. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.

Household Durables

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Review current equity sector weights for your portfolio and see how they compare to the market. If you want to invest in this sector, there are a few different ways you can get started. A typical example of a multiline retailer is Macy’s Inc. (M), which operates Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury stores and websites.

• If you want to invest in this sector, there are a few different ways you can get started.
• However, certain distributing companies may have their own manufacturing facilities.
• Although those sales numbers fell sharply during the pandemic, Starbucks is rebounding in the U.S.
• They are usually related to leisure, fashion, luxury, gift items and cultural products, although they can also be included, depending on their special characteristics, furniture and other household products.

This elastic demand means that it can plummet very quickly in response to decreases in consumers’ incomes or increases in prices of consumer discretionary goods. The sector includes numerous companies operating in various industries, including retail, media, restaurants, consumer durables, and apparel. Given consumers don’t have to buy consumer discretionary products or services, many consumer discretionary companies do well when the economy is strong and they don’t do as well when the economy is weak. During times when the economy is strong, consumers generally have more money to spend and many consumers spend more on premium items or services they don’t necessarily need. When the economy isn’t strong, many consumers will spend less on discretionary items.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL)

The automobile industry designs, produces, and markets cars, trucks, buses, and other types of vehicles. The industry is one of the most capital-intensive, as it requires billions of dollars to build plants and acquire technology. The largest global car manufacturers are Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) and Volkswagen (VOW3). In the near to medium term, however, there could be more downside if economic data doesn’t meet expectations.

The multiline retail industry includes operators of department stores and other stores that sell general merchandise, such as hypermarkets and large-scale supercenters. Using the collective wisdom of hedge funds, we ranked the 12 consumer discretionary stocks based on the number of hedge funds in our database that owned shares of the same stock at the end of Q2 2022. Consumer discretionary stocks tend to perform well during economic expansions, making them attractive to investors who foresee an uptick in spending.

Editorial integrity

Examples are hypothetical, and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Our estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. When it comes to consumer discretionary stocks, look no further than our Trade of the Day e-letter. The purchase of consumer discretionary products is often compared with the purchase of consumer staples.

As a result of the rate increases, the odds of a recession in the United States have increased. Given high inflation in 2022, the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates six times this year alone and many analysts expect the central bank to raise rates further. Retail investors have access to a plethora of ETFs through most online brokers. Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Companies involved in the exploration and production of energy products, such as oil, natural gas, and coal. Volatility profiles based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.

Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks to Buy

And the specialty retail industry includes clothing stores such as Nordstrom (JWN), electronics retailers like Best Buy (BBY) and home improvement stores such as Home Depot (HD). Consumer discretionary stocks are also called consumer cyclical stocks, as they’re sensitive to changes in disposable income caused by economic cycles of expansion and recession. The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. Companies that manufacture products and provide services that consumers purchase on a discretionary basis. Find Consumer Discretionary investments  Search stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds in this sector.

Doug is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst who spent more than 20 years as a derivatives market maker and asset manager before “reincarnating” as a financial media professional a decade ago. One example of a company in the distributor industry is LKQ Corporation (LKQ), which is a distributor of vehicle replacement parts and components used in car repair and maintenance.

Consumer Discretionary and Economic Indicators

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• Consumer discretionary stock prices tend to rise and fall with the overall economy, making them cyclical stocks.
• Typically, gross domestic product (GDP) is the number one metric for analyzing an economy.
• The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only.
• They may also buy low-risk investments, like United States Treasuries and corporate bonds.
• Household goods, food items, hygiene products, alcohol, tobacco and beverages are all examples of consumer staples.

Ralph Lauren (RL), Signet Jewelers (SIG), and Restoration Hardware (RH) are some examples. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. While we adhere to strict
editorial integrity,
this post may contain references to products from our partners. If you don’t have a brokerage account, you’ll need to open one in order to invest in consumer discretionary stocks. The answer is yes, because the GICS doesn’t always make a ton of sense.

For the consumer discretionary sector, State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) offers one of the market’s top options. When an economy is growing, many sectors see stock values increase and this can make equities attractive. The higher values are due to increasing profits and more discretionary consumer income.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the consumer discretionary sector differently than it did the consumer staples sector, which sells necessities. This sector includes products and services people buy that aren’t strictly necessary but are nice to have, such as cars, travel, and entertainment. Some of the big companies in this sector include Ford (F), Disney (DIS), Marriott (MAR), Macy’s (M), Nike (NKE), Home Depot (HD), Tesla (TSLA), McDonald’s (MCD), and Delta Air Lines (DAL).

Wall Street analysts refer to such businesses as consumer discretionary. Although TJX took a hit during the pandemic like other discretionary retailers, the company bounced back in 2021. While apparel and home goods retailers are facing headwinds in 2022 as consumer spending shifts back to services, TJX still expects modest comparable sales growth for the year. The company has increased year-to-date profits at a time when many of its peers are struggling with bloated inventory levels.

While picking winning stocks can be challenging, there’s a potential for excellent returns over time. POLL is a famous department store that offers a variety of essential and non-essential products. Nevertheless, almost 50% of its inventories are consumer discretionary goods. Its sales are highly affected by economic cycles and performance since consumers buy these discretionary products when they feel financially confident.