Research Guides: Company Research: Industry

Librarian

Lisa Shen

she/her/hers

Contact:

936-294-3587
lshen@shsu.edu
Rm 223F, Library main floor

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Industry Financials & Ratios

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Use this database to access ratios from RMA eStatement Studies
Go to Industry Reports: search by NAICS Industry Code > go to Key Statistics > Industry Financial Ratios: ratios can be downloaded in Excel
D&B Key Business Ratios (Dun & Bradstreet) This link opens in a new window
Industry ratios going back 5 years, search by SIC codes for better results
For historical data (1979-now), use Mergent Archives (KBR)
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
When industry ratios are unavailable, consider using Mergent to find company ratios from major competitors and calculate your own industry "average"

Industry Profiles & Reports

Best-Bet Starting Points

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Industry reports covering outlook, life cycle, key performance factors, market share & top competitors, competitive landscape, & industry financial ratios...
MarketLine Plus This link opens in a new window
Datamonitor reports with Porter's 5 Forces & market segmentation info
Mintel This link opens in a new window
Search by name of product, company, or market for consumer data, market analysis, and trends reports covering 35 markets
Info incl. 5-yr forecast, brand market share, and consumer attitudes & behaviors

Additional Resources - Some info from these sources are unique, but some will overlap with reports from the "best-bet" databases above

Standard & Poor's (S&P) NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
Recommend search by prominent company name in an industry of interest
> from the company's profile, click on the industry under "primary Industry classification"
> select from the available industry profiles
First Research This link opens in a new window
Some reports incl. "Executive Insights" section with strategic recommendations
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Search by company name > Company Reports tab > Industry Reports

More Industry Resources

Business Plans Handbooks
Sample business plans from various industries

Statista This link opens in a new window
Statistics and graphical info on selected industries, search by keyword

Consumer Spending Statistics
Data on consumer spending by product & industry in the US
Almanac of Business & Industrial Financial Ratios
Book series, available on 3rd floor of library reference area, call# HF5681.R25 T68
Industry at a Glance (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
"Snapshot" of industry labor statistics from the US government
US Census - American Fact Finder
Community census info, incl. demographics. households... etc.

Factiva.com This link opens in a new window

Quick Research Guide

Resources Listings
Use this guide to find resource for specific types of company & industry info (e.g. ratios, market share...)

Industry Codes

Know the Industry Classification

Every industry has a classificaton developed by the US Office of Management and Budget.

NAICS
(North American Industry Classification System)

SIC
(Standard Industrial Classification)

NAICS is an update of SIC and provides more detailed industry breakdowns. Both systems are still in use, so knowing both codes will help you to more easily access information in a variety resources.

Find the Industry Classifcation of a Company

NAICS & SIC codes can be found in Company Profiles from
Mergent Online and
Business Inisghts: Global

Find Companies in a particular Industry

Mergent Online can generate a list of competitors for a company by NAICS or SIC codes
IBISWorld industry profiles (by NAICS codes) also list major companies in an industry

Match a NAICS code to an SIC code (& vice versa)

Use these Concordances from the NAICS website

US Economic Survey - County Business Patterns