The following are tools for researching industries, starting with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industrial Classification (NAICs) codes developed the Census Bureau. Other resources provide trends and industry profiles.
Industry Profiles answer the following:
These government tools can help you label products and industries:
Enter industry or product type (not brand name). You may have to follow the broader categories, especially for industry overviews. NAICS is a new system meant to replace the SIC codes. Conversion between SIC and NAICS is available here.
At the main screen choose between logging into the industry reports or procurement reports databases by clicking its corresponding 'Login' button
Within Industry Reports, the simplest way to find industry information is to enter an industry name or NAICS code in the search box and click the magnifying glass just to the right of it.
Procurement reports can be searched by keywords or company name
Includes reports about stock performance, historical trend data and projections for over 1700 companies, as well as evaluation and analysis of industries. For your convenience, the printed reports are divided into 13 folders. There is an index folder to aid in locating the reports.
Each report is one page in length and includes: estimates for 3-5 years, quarterly sales, EPS, and dividends; projected price, appreciation, dividend yield expected, insider decisions to buy or sell, and Value Line ratings for timeliness, safety, and beta. Beta is based on the NYSE Composite Index over a period of five years, and they are adjusted for their long-term tendency to converge toward 1.00.
Reports are available online back to 1997. Click on Historical Archives under quick links on the right side of the screen to search for the historical report PDFs. The History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library and Oak Street Facility also have microform of historical reports.
To start a quick search for company information, use the search box on the top right corner.
BIS has created a series of YT clips on how to find information on companies using some of the databases mentioned in this guide. They are designed to get you started in determining if the company is public, private, subsidiary, plus ways to compile list of companies within industries. The Industry YT's are how to search for basic industry reports.
Click HERE to go to the BIS Playlist on YT. The clips are very short and will aid you in navigating through these complex databases. Remember that a lot of these reports are not found for free on Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
