The chart below breaks down the annual performance of the S&P 500 sectors. Not only do you get an idea of how a small group of stocks affects the S&P each year, you see how each sector performs through economic and stock market cycles.
While sectors can bounce around from year to year, top to bottom and back again, over the long-term, those big swings even out. The chart shows annual returns for the ten stock market sectors against the S&P 500.
The table below ranks the best to worst sector returns over the past 15 years. Hover over the table to highlight each sector performance over that period.
S&P 500 Sector Performance
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONS -15.4% |
INFT 61.7% |
REAL 32.3% |
UTIL 19.9% |
FINL 28.8% |
COND 43.1% |
REAL 30.2% |
COND 10.1% |
ENRS 27.4% |
INFT 38.8% |
HLTH 6.5% |
INFT 50.3% |
INFT 43.9% |
ENRS 54.6% |
ENRS 65.7% |
INFT 42.8% |
|
| HLTH -22.8% |
MATR 48.6% |
COND 27.7% |
CONS 14.0% |
COND 23.9% |
HLTH 41.5% |
UTIL 29.0% |
HLTH 6.9% |
TELS 23.5% |
MATR 23.8% |
UTIL 4.1% |
TELS 32.7% |
COND 33.3% |
REAL 46.2% |
UTIL 1.6% |
TELS 36.2% |
|
| UTIL -29.0% |
COND 41.3% |
INDU 26.7% |
HLTH 12.7% |
REAL 19.7% |
INDU 40.7% |
HLTH 25.3% |
CONS 6.6% |
FINL 22.8% |
COND 23.0% |
COND 0.8% |
FINL 32.1% |
TELS 23.6% |
FINL 35.0% |
CONS -0.6% |
COND 33.1% |
|
| TELS -30.5% |
REAL 27.1% |
MATR 22.2% |
REAL 11.4% |
TELS 18.3% |
FINL 35.6% |
INFT 20.1% |
INFT 5.9% |
INDU 18.9% |
FINL 22.2% |
INFT -0.3% |
S&P 31.5% |
MATR 20.7% |
INFT 34.5% |
HLTH -2.0% |
S&P 16.9% |
|
| COND -33.5% |
S&P 26.5% |
ENRS 20.5% |
TELS 6.3% |
HLTH 17.9% |
S&P 32.4% |
CONS 16.0% |
REAL 4.7% |
MATR 16.7% |
HLTH 22.1% |
REAL -2.2% |
INDU 29.4% |
S&P 18.4% |
S&P 28.7% |
INDU -5.5% |
INDU 10.2% |
|
| ENRS -34.9% |
INDU 20.9% |
TELS 19.0% |
COND 6.1% |
S&P 16.0% |
INFT 28.4% |
FINL 15.2% |
TELS 3.4% |
UTIL 16.3% |
S&P 21.8% |
S&P -4.4% |
REAL 29.0% |
HLTH 13.5% |
MATR 27.3% |
FINL -10.5% |
MATR 7.7% |
|
| S&P -37.0% |
HLTH 19.7% |
S&P 15.1% |
ENRS 4.7% |
INDU 15.4% |
CONS 26.1% |
S&P 13.7% |
S&P 1.4% |
INFT 13.9% |
INDU 21.0% |
CONS -8.4% |
COND 27.9% |
INDU 11.1% |
HLTH 26.1% |
MATR -12.3% |
REAL 3.8% |
|
| INDU -39.9% |
FINL 17.2% |
CONS 14.1% |
INFT 2.4% |
MATR 15.0% |
MATR 25.6% |
INDU 9.8% |
FINL -1.5% |
S&P 12.0% |
CONS 13.5% |
TELS -12.5% |
CONS 27.6% |
CONS 10.8% |
COND 24.4% |
S&P -18.1% |
CONS 1.3% |
|
| REAL -42.3% |
CONS 14.9% |
FINL 12.1% |
S&P 2.1% |
INFT 14.8% |
ENRS 25.1% |
COND 9.7% |
INDU -2.5% |
COND 6.0% |
UTIL 12.1% |
FINL -13.0% |
UTIL 26.4% |
UTIL 0.5% |
TELS 21.6% |
REAL -26.1% |
FINL -0.5% |
|
| INFT -43.1% |
ENRS 13.8% |
INFT 10.2% |
INDU -0.6% |
CONS 10.8% |
UTIL 13.2% |
MATR 6.9% |
UTIL -4.8% |
CONS 5.4% |
REAL 10.9% |
INDU -13.3% |
MATR 24.6% |
FINL -1.7% |
INDU 21.1% |
INFT -28.2% |
HLTH -1.5% |
|
| MATR -45.7% |
UTIL 11.9% |
UTIL 5.5% |
MATR -9.6% |
ENRS 4.6% |
TELS 11.5% |
TELS 3.0% |
MATR -8.4% |
REAL 3.4% |
ENRS -1.0% |
MATR -14.7% |
HLTH 20.8% |
REAL -2.2% |
CONS 18.6% |
COND -37.0% |
ENRS -5.5% |
|
| FINL -55.3% |
TELS 8.9% |
HLTH 2.9% |
FINL -17.1% |
UTIL 1.3% |
REAL 1.6% |
ENRS -7.8% |
ENRS -21.1% |
HLTH -2.7% |
TELS -1.3% |
ENRS -18.1% |
ENRS 11.8% |
ENRS -33.7% |
UTIL 17.7% |
TELS -39.9% |
UTIL -5.7% |
| Abbr. | Sector Index | Annual | Best | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COND | S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Index | 11.01% | 43.1% | -37.0% |
| CONS | S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index | 9.66% | 27.6% | -15.4% |
| ENRS | S&P 500 Energy Index | 3.79% | 65.7% | -34.9% |
| FINL | S&P 500 Financials Index | 4.65% | 35.6% | -55.3% |
| HLTH | S&P 500 Health Care Index | 11.52% | 41.5% | -22.8% |
| INDU | S&P 500 Industrials Index | 8.20% | 40.7% | -39.9% |
| INFT | S&P 500 Information Technology Index | 13.19% | 61.7% | -43.1% |
| MATR | S&P 500 Materials Index | 6.60% | 48.6% | -45.7% |
| REAL | S&P 500 Real Estate Index | 6.94% | 46.2% | -42.3% |
| TELS | S&P 500 Communication Services Index | 3.68% | 32.7% | -39.9% |
| UTIL | S&P 500 Utilities Index | 7.39% | 29.0% | -29.0% |
| S&P | S&P 500 Index | 8.80% | 32.4% | -37.0% |
Past performance does not guarantee future returns. The historical performance is meant to show changes in market trends across the different S&P 500 sectors over the past ten years. Returns represent total annual returns (reinvestment of all distributions) and does not include fees and expenses. The investments you choose should reflect your financial goals and risk tolerance. For assistance, talk to a financial professional. All data are as of 6/30/23.