The sales, earnings and thus share prices of cyclical stocks (cyclicals) tend to fluctuate with the overall economy and are associated with industries that are heavily affected by the economic cycle and consumer demand. (Example: stocks in the automotive, airline, hospitality, housing, building material and retail industries).

Cyclicals do well when the economy is strong and consumer demand is high, and conversely, can suffer when the economy is weak and consumer demand is low. This makes them an attractive investment class for those who are skilled at identifying economic trends or when it becomes fairly obvious that an economy is peaking or bottoming.