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Consumer Cyclical Sector Report

Market Cap: $8.8T
Stocks: 540
Median P/E: 17.2x
Median ROIC: 8.2%

Data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings. Report refreshed weekly.

The Consumer Cyclical (Discretionary) sector spans companies providing non-essential goods and services, including automobiles, apparel, restaurants, travel, and e-commerce. Demand is highly correlated with consumer confidence and disposable income, making the sector more volatile through economic cycles. Top performers typically combine strong brand equity with operational efficiency.

Performance Dashboard

PeriodSector (MCW)Sector (Median)
1 Day-0.1%-0.1%
1 Week-2.8%-0.4%
1 Month
3 Months
6 Months
YTD+0.1%+0.1%
1 Year+19.9%+2.3%
3 Years+111.8%+1.5%
5 Years+57.0%-20.4%

Today's Breadth: 191 advancing · 235 declining · 27 flat

Valuation Summary

MetricMedianP25P75vs 5Y Avg
P/E17.2x9.6x28.3x-2%
P/B1.7x0.8x3.8x-25%
P/S0.7x0.3x1.6x
P/FCF12.9x6.5x23.4x
EV/EBITDA9.3x5.7x15.0x
EV/EBIT14.8x10.0x22.1x
Earnings Yield
4.9%
FCF Yield
5.0%
Below Fair Value
44% of stocks

Profitability Profile

Margins

MetricMedian5Y AvgP25P75
Gross Margin36.7%35.5%23.2%53.6%
Operating Margin5.2%0.1%10.8%
Net Margin2.7%3.1%-2.1%7.1%
FCF Margin4.7%0.7%10.1%

Returns on Capital

MetricMedian5Y AvgP25P75
ROE7.7%-6.9%17.6%
ROA2.3%-3.9%6.5%
ROIC8.2%9.2%0.2%16.1%

Growth Metrics

Metric1Y3Y CAGR5Y CAGR
Revenue+3.2%+3.2%+7.0%
EPS+10.4%-1.0%+9.8%
Free Cash Flow+10.1%+4.5%+4.1%

All values represent sector median growth rates.

Balance Sheet Health

Debt / Equity
0.6x
Net Debt / EBITDA
1.4x
Interest Coverage
3.6x
Current Ratio
1.3x

Altman Z-Score

Safe (>3): 164 (34%)
Gray (1.8–3): 121 (25%)
Distress (<1.8): 204 (42%)

Piotroski F-Score

Strong (7–9): 117 (22%)
Moderate (4–6): 322 (60%)
Weak (0–3): 101 (19%)

Top Companies

Symbol#Mkt CapP/EEV/EBITDAROICNet MgnRev Gr.Div YldYTDQual.
AMZN1$2.6T32.4x16.9x21.6%10.8%+12.4%-3.0%3/9
TSLA2$1.2T440.0x155.5x7.5%4.0%-2.9%+5.4%5/9
HD3$338.8B25.9x17.5x30.2%9.3%+4.5%2.3%+0.7%5/9
TM4$275.1B7.2x4.0x14.1%10.0%+8.2%3.3%+1.8%5/9
MC-PA5$241.4B24.4x14.3x17.0%14.8%-2.2%2.3%5/9
MCD6$218.2B26.0x17.9x27.3%31.9%+3.7%2.3%+0.7%5/9
DIS7$183.2B16.2x10.4x12.2%13.1%+3.4%0.5%+0.9%4/9
TJX8$181.9B28.9x17.1x63.7%8.6%+4.0%1.2%-0.3%6/9
LOW9$140.6B21.2x14.7x34.5%8.3%-3.1%1.7%+0.1%4/9
SBUX10$111.0B50.5x22.9x19.4%5.0%+2.8%3.0%-2.6%4/9
CVS11$99.3B56.8x16.7x2.7%0.4%+7.8%3.4%-1.7%1/9
MAR12$98.3B33.1x21.7x25.5%9.9%+4.3%0.8%+3.5%4/9
SHW13$83.7B31.7x20.5x20.5%10.9%+2.1%1.0%+0.9%5/9
ORLY14$80.3B31.1x21.3x61.9%14.3%+6.4%+1.0%6/9
HLT15$77.9B47.9x28.0x33.8%12.1%+7.7%0.2%+2.4%4/9
GM16$74.7B25.4x21.3x1.7%1.7%-1.3%0.7%+0.8%3/9
ROST17$73.1B22.0x13.0x37.8%9.9%+3.7%1.1%-0.3%5/9
CTAS18$72.4B50.8x35.3x28.8%17.5%+7.8%0.7%+1.9%4/9
TEL19$70.1B35.1x17.0x12.3%10.7%+8.9%1.3%+3.3%5/9
PCAR20$67.1B24.7x17.6x12.4%8.3%-15.5%2.4%-1.2%4/9

Industry Composition

IndustryStocksMarket Cap%
Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses22$2.7T30.5%
Motor Vehicles & Passenger Car Bodies19$1.9T21.2%
Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers5$494.6B5.6%
Retail-Eating Places36$416.5B4.7%
Hotels & Motels22$336.2B3.8%
Retail-Family Clothing Stores10$282.7B3.2%
Luxury Goods6$253.6B2.9%
Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation20$237.6B2.7%
Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations19$192.6B2.2%
Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply4$160.8B1.8%
Retail-Auto & Home Supply Stores6$145.2B1.6%
Retail-Eating & Drinking Places6$132.9B1.5%
Auto - Manufacturers5$116.0B1.3%
Men'S & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments6$113.6B1.3%
Motor Vehicle Parts & Accessories31$111.4B1.3%

Showing top 15 of 92 industries.

Quality Distribution

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Quality Score (0-9)

High Quality (7+)
4%
Median Piotroski F
5/9
Profitable Years
6 of 10

Dividends & Shareholder Returns

Paying Dividends
45%
Median Div Yield
2.1%
Median Buyback Yield
1.4%
Shareholder Yield
3.1%
Payout Ratio
35.6%
Div Growth (3Y)
7.0%
Div Growth (5Y)
8.7%

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

No notable strengths identified.

Weaknesses

  • [Financial Health]41.7% of companies fall in the Altman Z-Score distress zone (<1.8), indicating elevated bankruptcy risk within the sector.
  • [Leverage]Tight interest coverage at 3.6x, leaving limited cushion for debt servicing if earnings decline.
  • [Profitability]Razor-thin net margins at a median of 2.7%, leaving little room for execution error or economic downturn.
  • [Quality]Only 3.7% of companies score 7+ on the quality checklist, reflecting structural challenges in achieving consistent returns across the sector.

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