Subject Guides: Entrepreneurship: Industry Analysis

Business & Economics Librarian

Jennilyn Wiley

she/her/hers

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Contact:

RBD Library
231 Mell Street
Auburn University, AL 36849-5606

334-844-2715

Subjects: Business, Economics

How to find industry research

NAICS Codes for Searching Industries

North American Industry Classification System
NAICS Codes will help you identify the industry your business operates in. Identifying key NAICS codes before starting an extensive search can save you time and energy.

Trade Associations

Trade associations & organizations can provide a wealth of information and statistics about an industry. Sometimes, this information is restricted to members-only. It's usually worth taking a look at their site to see what may be available for free.

If it is a members-only site, see if the association has been quoted in business trade publications, newspapers or magazines. You can do this by using their name as a search term in the databases listed under the "Business Articles" tab.

Try searching for the name of your industry + the word "organization" (or try "association"). This will usually bring up results for National or International groups. However, carefully judge the quality of the sites that you visit to make sure they are reputable organizations and data is gathered in a systematic and non-biased manner.

Industry Reports

Industry reports are created by market research firms, investment analysts, and some government agencies. These are usually lengthy reports, focused on one industry, and updated regularly.

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
(AU Libraries Database) U.S. and China industry information. Use NAICS codes or keyword search to find industry. Reports cover key industry statistics, market segmentation, current industry conditions and future outlook.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
(AU Libraries Database) Do a Keyword search for the industry and then limit the results to the Industry Profiles. These reports include detailed industry information, such as market overviews, value, segmentation, share, and forecasts, competitive landscape, and leading companies.
Business Insights: Essentials This link opens in a new window
(AU Libraries Database) The database provides information on companies and industries.
ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
Major source for academic journals, trade publications, market and industry research reports, company annual reports, dissertations, and working papers. Also contains country profiles and economic forecasts for most major economies.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Provides information on over 11,000 companies listed on the NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq exchanges updated daily, information on over 12,000 international companies, domestic and international annual reports, real-time access to SEC (EDGAR) filings dating back to 1993, "as-reported" financial statements providing review of balance sheets, income statements, expenditures, assets, liabilities, cash flow, performance trends, etc.

Standard & Poor's Industry Reports
2nd floor Reference Book, HG 4921 .S66
High-quality industry reports. Covers around 50 major industries, both in the U.S. and globally. Updated every six months.
Export.gov
(Free Government Website) For industry information in other countries. It does not cover all industries in all countries. Look under Market Research Library. Will need a username and password to use, but it is FREE to use.

Industry Ratios

RMA annual statement studies
This is a primary source for finding industry ratios and is published by Risk Management Association. RMA provides nineteen common ratios along with balance sheet and income statements for about 370 lines of businesses in manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, contracting, and service ndustries. Provides four years of historical data and breaks each industry down by company size in assets and sales. In the colored section at the back of the volume, there is a comprehensive bibliography of financial ratio sources. In the front of the volume, there is a section showing how the ratios are calculated.

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Choose 'Key Business Ratios' from the main page.

Studying the Competition

With the following databases, you can use the NAICS Code to create a list of competitors in an industry. Some allow you to narrow that list by other criteria, such as geography, sales, private/public ownership, etc.

Business Insights: Essentials This link opens in a new window
Database to research all business and management topics. Includes directory listings for over 300,000 companies as well as company profiles, industry rating, product brands, company performance ratings, investment reports and ratings, industry statistics, financial overviews, financial ratios, etc.
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a wide range of business data: private and public U.S. and international companies, industry news, facts and figures, executive contact information and industry profiles.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Provides full text articles for business journals--and other periodicals--covering management, economics, finance, accounting and international business. Also includes indexing and abstracts for other journals/periodicals.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Provides information on over 11,000 companies listed on the NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq exchanges updated daily, information on over 12,000 international companies, domestic and international annual reports, real-time access to SEC (EDGAR) filings dating back to 1993, "as-reported" financial statements providing review of balance sheets, income statements, expenditures, assets, liabilities, cash flow, performance trends, etc.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
(AU Libraries Database) Use the Business link at the top of the page to search for company profiles. It searches a lot of different sources at one time and pulls them all together on a “Snapshot” page.