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Introduction
This is a guide to sources of industry ratios and averages and to materials that explain how to calculate and interpret these numbers. Composite financial data, such as industry ratios and averages, are generally used to compare one company’s performance to that of an industry as a whole.
For books and other information on ratios, search the URI Libraries Search using the Library of Congress Subject Heading RATIO ANALYSIS. For periodical articles about ratios, search the Database ProQuest One Business using the Subject Term RATIOS and narrower terms such as RATIO ANALYSIS, FINANCIAL RATIOS, and OPERATIONAL RATIOS.
- ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Comprehensive business library containing millions of full-text items across scholarly and popular periodicals, newspapers, market research reports, dissertations, books, videos, and more.
Databases and Online Resources
- CRB Commodity Yearbook (Mergent Archives) This link opens in a new window
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- What's included? Provides the full-text of the CRB Commodity Yearbook. Comprehensive source of commodity and futures market information available from the Commodity Research Bureau, the organization of record for the commodity industry. Data is sourced from governments, private industries, and trade and industrial associations.
- What dates are covered? 1939 to present
- D&B Key Business Ratios (Mergent) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Industry benchmarking data compiled from Dun & Bradstreet's database of public and private companies, featuring 14 key business ratios for public and private companies in 800 lines of business.
- What dates are covered? 2014 to present.
- D&B Key Business Ratios Archive Collection (Mergent Archives) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Full-text archive of the page images of D&B's Key Business Ratios volumes.
- What dates are covered? from 1979 to present.
- First Research (Mergent) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Profiles of over 900 industry segments. Industry profiles include overview, competitive landscape, products, operations and technology, sales and marketing, finance and regulation, regional and international issues, human resources, and labor statistics. Also includes industry news, industry forecast, critical issues, business challenges, trends and opportunities, and industry ratios.
- D&B Hoovers (Mergent) This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Offers detailed company and industry profiles on over 188 million businesses, both public and private, around the world. Company profiles include description of business, company history, key financials and stock information, links to SEC filings, and list of competitors. Industry profiles offer industry description, competitive landscape, products and technology, finance and regulation, industry indicators and trends, and list of companies in the industry. Reports and data can be downloaded.
- What else should I know? Hoover's does not always work well in Firefox; if you are asked to log in, switch to a different browser.
- Mergent InvestorEdge This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? Equity research reports from Ford Equity Research provide expert analysis and buy, sell, and hold recommendations for over 5,000 U.S. and international companies. Product includes links to bond reports from Mergent, company annual reports, EDGAR filings, and industry reports. Industry reports provide information on current environment, an industry profile, market trends and outlook, and comparative company data. Updated weekly.
- Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) Manufacturing, Mining, Trade, and Selected Service Industries
- What's included? Quarterly income statement and balance sheet data as well as selected financial and operating ratios classified by industry and asset size. Composite totals are also given for manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade, and retail trade. Continues the Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing Corporations.
- UNdata This link opens in a new window
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- What’s included? The United Nations Data Access System, providing access to current, relevant and reliable statistics for free. Includes official statistics produced by countries, as well as estimates and projections. The domains covered are agriculture, education, energy, industry, labor, national accounts, population and tourism.
- What else should I know? Produced by United Nations Statistics and Population Divisions as well as other United Nations agencies.
About this guide...
This guide was originally created by Andrew S. Turyn 6/1980. Revised by John B. Etchingham/S. Carlisle 6/1983;
John B. Etchingham 5/1987; Andrée Rathemacher 5/1997, 9/1998, 9/2003, 11/2003, 5/2004.
Updated and reformatted by Madge Boldt 11/2011. Ida D. McGhee 12/2012. Andrée Rathemacher 4/2013.
Updated by Mark Matook 3/2018
Updated by Chris Cassaday, 10/2022