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Materials like metal, concrete and chemicals are the foundation of the global economy—
every sector requires basic materials, after all. Materials sector stocks belong to
companies that manufacture, mine and produce the core materials that make production
possible worldwide.
If you’d like to add materials stocks to your portfolio, you have a wide range of options.
To help with your research, here are profiles of the 10 largest materials stocks by total
market capitalization, along with a look at their most recent performance.
Chemicals stocks. Chemical companies turn raw materials into chemicals that are used for other
purposes, like converting nitrogen and phosphorus into chemical fertilizer. This also includes the
production of industrial gases.
Construction materials stocks. These companies produce the materials used for construction
projects, like paint, PVC pipe and wood coating.
Paper and packaging stocks. These firms create paper along with other materials used for
packaging, cartons and containers.
Metals and minerals stocks. Here we have companies that focus on the production of metals
and minerals, usually via mining.
Advantages of Investing in Materials Stocks
They perform well during boom economic cycles. When the economy is expanding,
there’s more demand for basic materials needed to build more houses, cars, electronics
and other products. This pushes up the price of materials as well as the performance of
these stocks.
Growth in developing countries boosts materials demand. As countries like China and
India continue to develop and expand their economies, they drive growing demand for
materials, supporting the long-term prospects of basic materials stocks.
Reliable cash flow. Since materials are necessary to build any product, there is usually a
certain floor of demand no matter what the global economy is doing, especially for
essential materials used in health care, food and power generation.
Above-average dividend yields. Materials stocks like to share the wealth with their
stockholders; they tend to pay higher average dividends than other sectors.