Industry ratios...

Industry ratios are useful when analyzing a company and its financial performance in the context of the competition and the overall industry.

One of the well-known resources in the area is from D&B (Dun and Bradstreet). At USFSP, we have access to the online database version "Key Business Ratios" (Under "Databases by title/subject", select subject=business and economics; sub-category=ratio databases.). We also have copies of the corresponding annual print publication, "Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios" (HF5681.R25 I52) in the reference collection on the first floor.

Other important resources for business ratios include the following:

• "IRS corporate financial resources", Schonfeld & Associates (HF5681.B2I2)
• "Almanac of business and industrial financial ratios", Leo Troy (HF5681.R25 T68)
• "RMA annual statement studies", Robert Morris Associates (HF5681.B2R6)

All of these publications are available on on the first floor of the USFSP Library.

Each of these resources has different strengths or features that may be more suited to your needs for any specific project. For example, some may cover more industries or include more businesses (public-only or public & private companies); define or divide industries differently (i.e. by SIC codes and/or asset sizes); and include more or different financial ratios. You may also need to consider how the data is collected -- from SEC filings or IRS filings, etc. -- and for how many years the data is available.