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- The Thomson Reuters Business Classification/The Refinitiv® Business Classification (TRBC)
The Refinitiv Business Classification (TRBC) is an industry classification of global companies developed by the Thomson Reuters, a global provider of financial information and news. TRBC is designed to categorize companies and their financial instruments into sectors and industries, providing a standardized framework for investment analysis, portfolio management, and benchmarking. The TRBC system is hierarchical, with four levels ranging from broad economic sectors to more specific industries and subindustries. It also applies a markets-based classification methodology.
Structure
The TRBC is a hierarchical five-digit classification system which, according to the latest update, is structured as follows:
Economic Sectors: The broadest level consists of 10 economic sectors such as "Energy", "Financials", "Consumer Cyclicals" etc. They are represented by a two-digit identification code.
Business Sectors: There are 25 business sectors which are major segments within the above economic sectors. For example, "Energy - Fossil Fuels" within "Energy". Business sectors are represented by four-digit ID codes.
Industry Groups: Business Sectors are collapsed into 52 Industry Groups, which are more specific categories within each sector. Industry groups are represented by six-digit ID codes.
Industries: Industry Groups are further divided into 124 specific Industries, which categorizes companies based on the finer details of their operations. Industry groups are represented by eight-digit ID codes.
Activity Groups: In this most detailed classification level, industries are broken down into 837 Activity groups, providing an even more granular classification of companies. Activity groups are represented by 10-digit ID codes.
The table below shows how each of the 10 TRBC economic sectors is subclassified. The "Consumer Cyclicals" sector has the highest with 237 activity groups followed by the "Industrials" and "Basic Materials" sectors with 159 and 86 activity groups respectively.
Economic Sector | Business Sectors (#) | Industry Groups (#) | Industries (#) | Activity Groups (#) |
Energy | 3 | 5 | 10 | 50 |
Basic Materials | 3 | 5 | 16 | 86 |
Industrials | 3 | 8 | 22 | 159 |
Consumer Cyclicals | 4 | 9 | 28 | 237 |
Consumer Non-Cyclicals | 4 | 5 | 12 | 93 |
Financials | 4 | 5 | 18 | 61 |
Healthcare | 2 | 4 | 6 | 43 |
Technology | 4 | 9 | 18 | 99 |
Utilities | 1 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
Real Estate | 1 | 2 | 6 | 23 |
History & Versions
Origins and Early Development: The classification system was first known as the Reuters Business Sector Scheme (RBSS), created by Reuters Group. It was developed to classify companies into sectors, industries, and sub-industries based on their primary business activities.
Thomson Reuters Era: In 2008, following the acquisition of Reuters by Thomson Corporation, RBSS was renamed the Thomson Reuters Business Classification (TRBC), with regular refinements and updates to ensure it kept pace with emerging industries.
Formation of Refinitiv and Rebranding: Following the formation of Refinitiv in 2018 when Thomson Reuters sold a majority stake in its Financial & Risk (F&R) unit to Blackstone Group LP, the classification system was rebranded as the Refinitiv Business Classification (TRBC) in 2020.
LESG: Refinitiv is now LESG since 2023. However, the name of the classification system has been maintained as The Refinitiv® Business Classification (TRBC).
Version Updates: There have been four versions of TRBC thus far: RBSS 2004, TRBC 2008, TRBC 2012 and TRBC 2020. As with other classification systems, these updates typically involve the inclusion of new industries or sub-industries, merging or splitting existing categories, and refining definitions to better capture the evolving global business economy. For example, newer industries like biotechnology and renewable energy have become more prominent in recent updates.
Where is it used?
The TRBC system is most widely used in the financial services industry. Fund managers, investment analysts, and other finance professionals use it to categorize companies and assess performance trends within specific industries.