Business

• Industry information
• Industry classification codes
• Industry financials and ratios
• Industry / trade journals and newspapers
• Industry associations
• Industry statistics
• Canadian trade resources

Industry information

Canada only:

Industry Canada

Includes industry profiles. Enter industry keyword in search box.

Associations Canada

This resource provides a listing of Canadian Associations. Associations may provide detailed information on their respective industry. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.

Canada, U.S. and international:

IBISWorld

Contains Canadian and US Industry Reports, iExpert Summaries, and Business Environment Profiles. Industry market research reports contain such information as trends, statistics & analysis on market size, market share of major companies, industry growth rates, and key external forces affecting supply and demand.

ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry

Contains Business Monitor International (BMI) Industry Reports and First Research Industry Reports. To access the BMI Industry Reports, click the "Browse" link at the top, then select the link for BMI Industry Reports under Industry and Market Research. You can start browsing either by industry or by location. To find country-specific industry forecasts, click the "+" sign next to business forecasts to expand options. These BMI quarterly reports contain either 5 or 10-year forecasts.

Marketline

Provides industry reports and analysis including Porter's Five Forces analysis. Enter in keyword. Select "Industries" from drop-down menu. Learn how to use Marketline to find Five Forces analysis from this video tutorial.

S&P NetAdvantage

Includes Industry Surveys. Click the Industries tab.

LexisNexis Academic

Contains select industry reports. On main page, click "Search by Content Type", then under "Companies", click on "Dossier(Company, Executive, & Industry)". Click on the "Industry" tab. Run a search by industry keyword or SIC code. Can also browse SIC code industry hierarchy. On Industry Overview page, click "Reports".

Thomson One

Covers global company and industry research and forecasts. Reports are from key brokerage firms and consultants. To search for industry reports, go to the "Screening & Analysis" tab > "Research" > "Research Search". You may search by SIC, NAICS or text. * Date default set to last 90 days. ** You must use Internet Explorer for full functionality of the database. Learn how to use Thomson One to find industry analyst reports from this video tutorial.

Passport GMID

Offers industry/market analysis and forecasting. Select an industry from drop-down "Industries" menu or enter keyword in search box.

Industrial classification codes

Many government websites, and some databases, organize business information using an industry classification system, with a specific code for each industry. You may find it helpful to look up the code for your industry as part of your research.

Note: If you are researching a very specific or very new industry, it may not be included in these industry classification systems.

The two most common industry classification systems are NAICS and SIC. Both are hierarchical, organized by broad industry categories, each divided into more specific industries.

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System)

Developed in 1997, by Canada, the United States and Mexico. Industry codes are from 2-6 digits long.

SIC (Standard Industrial Classification)

An older industry classification system. NAICS was intended to replace SIC, however, some resources still use SIC codes to classify information.

Industry financials and ratios

Canada only:

D&B's Canadian Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios

Comprises of a set of business ratios, measured as relationships between companies' balance sheet and income statement categories, across industries as per Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes.

Financial Performance Indicators

Contains key financial ratios by industry groupings compiled from the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS 2007).

Canada, U.S. and International:

Factiva

Captures industry averages and ratios. Click on the Companies/Markets tab on the top of the screen and then select Industry. Choose an industry.

E-Statement Studies

Contains composite financial data, including ratios, on major types of industries. Arranged by NAICS code, this work makes it possible to compare one company's performance relative to other companies in the same industry. Search for industries using either their name (or partial name) or by NAICS code.

Mergent (D&B) Key Business Ratios

Features 14 key business ratios for public and private companies in 800 lines of business in the U.S. and Canada. Search data by SIC and NAICS code, line of business, asset range and year. Input financial data and instantly compare any balance sheet with industry benchmarks.

S&P NetAdvantage

Includes industry ratios. Use the Industry Surveys drop-down menu on the right hand side of the screen to select your industry.

GoogleFinance

Offers valuation ratios that give industry and sector comparisons by company. Search and display your company then scroll down and click on "More from Reuters". A new page will open, click on "Financials".

YahooFinance

Provides key industry financial ratios. Click on the "Investing" tab and select "Industries". Choose an industry from "Complete Industry List". Key ratios are found under "Industry Statistics".

Industry statistics

Industry Canada

Contains "Canadian Industry Statistics" that present and analyze industry data on a number of economic indicators using the latest annual data sources from Statistics Canada.

CANSIM @ CHASS

Provides access to the data series from which many of the Statistics Canada publications are derived.

International Trade Association

Provides trade statistics for the U.S. Of special note is the U.S. Industry Sector Data section under "Data & Analysis".

CANSIM @ Statistics Canada

Public website for Statistics Canada data. Note: additional industry statistics are available through CANSIM.

Industry/trade journals and newspapers

Trade journals and newspapers can be found in the following databases:

• ABI/INFORM Complete
• Business Source Complete
• Canadian Newsstand
• CBCA Complete (Canadian Business and Current Affairs)
• Canadian Periodial Index (CPI.Q)
• Factiva
• LexisNexis Academic

Industry associations

Associations Canada

This resource provides a listing of Canadian Associations. N.B. Be sure to uncheck all databases, with the exception of Associations Canada.

Canadian trade resources

Canada's Gateways

Includes information on Canada’s three main Gateways and Trade Corridors, as well as Foreign Trade Zones

Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database (1988-)

Detailed trade data using the Harmonized System (HS) classification of goods (based on the 6-digit commodity level)

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Contains international trade market reports

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Provides useful Canadian trade facts

Trade Data Online

Generates customized reports on Canada and U.S. trade in goods with over 200 countries

• Annual Reports and Regulatory Filings
• Company Overviews
• SWOT Analyses
• Market Share Information
• Company Financials
• Analyst Reports
• Private Companies
• Company Rankings
• Article Databases

Public Companies

Public companies issue securities which are traded on the open market (stock exchange or over-the-counter market). These companies must meet stringent reporting requirements set out by securities regulators, including the public disclosure of financial statements and reports discussing the state of the company.

Information on public companies is considerable and includes everything from company profiles, history, financial statements, recent developments, and corporate social responsibility.

Annual Reports and Regulatory Filings

Sedar

Find annual reports for Canadian publicly-traded companies (from 1997+).

Watch the video tutorial: Finding Canadian Company Annual Reports.

Edgar

Find annual reports for U.S. publicly-traded companies (from 1994+).

Mergent Online

Coverage includes company filings for over 10,000 publicly-traded companies worldwide. Enter the company name or ticker symbol in the search box > click ‘Go’ > once on the company profile page, select the ‘Reports’ tab.

LexisNexis Academic

Coverage includes US company filings. Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right). See the ‘SEC Filings’ section.

ProQuest Historical Annual Reports

Coverage includes 800+ US companies. Filings available from the 1800’s +.

Company Overviews

Mergent Online

Enter company name or ticker symbol in the search box then click ‘Go’.

Marketline Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select ‘Companies’ from the drop-down menu.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right).

Factiva

Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’.

Passport

Contains global company profiles and SWOT analyses. Search for a company in the top-right search box.

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select ‘Browse by company’.

SWOT Analyses

Marketline Advantage

Enter company name in the search box > select ‘Companies’ from the drop-down menu > click ‘Search’ > Company SWOT analyses can be found within the company profile reports (see the right-hand column of the report).

Passport

SWOT analyses for selected international companies are available in the Global Company Profile reports. Run company search > select ‘Filter Analysis’ and under ‘By Analysis’ select ‘Global Company Profile’ > SWOTs can be found within the reports.

Thomson One

*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Some analyst reports contain SWOT analyses. Enter the company name or ticker symbol in the search box (upper left-hand corner) > click ‘Go’ > next select ‘Research’ – ‘Company Research’ (top blue bar) > select date range > under ‘Enter Keyword’ choose ‘Title/Text’ and enter ‘SWOT’ in text box > click ‘Search’.

Market Share Information

Market Share Reporter

Provides some information on the market share for Canadian companies, products and/or services but the main focus is U.S. and International. Search by company, product, industry keyword, or industry classification codes.

IBISWorld

IBISWorld industry reports provide market share for companies and products and/or services within Canada and the US. Market share information can be found under the sections ‘Major Companies’, ‘Competitive Landscape’, and ‘Products & Markets’.

Passport

Developed by Euromonitor International, Passport provides data on market share, brand shares, and retail shares of companies and products globally or by country/region. Market share data is generally included in the ‘Market Data’ section of industry reports or in the ‘Competitive Positioning’ section of the global company profiles.

Article Databases

Market Share information can also be found in trade articles. Conduct a search for market share information in the following article databases by using keywords, such as the company’s name with the phrase “market share” or “brand share”.

Business Source Complete

ProQuest Business

Company Financials

Mergent Online

Contains ratio analysis and up to 15 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Data can be downloaded into Excel. Enter company name or ticker symbol in the search box then click ‘Go’ > select the ‘Company Financials’ Tab.

Watch the video tutorial: Company financials: Mergent Online.

Thomson One

*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Contains financial information on public companies worldwide, including summary financial data, key ratios, actual and forward estimates, stock pricing data, M&A data and more. Some data can be downloaded into Excel. Enter company name or stock ticker symbol in the search box (upper left-hand corner) then click the 'Go' button.

Factiva

Coverage includes a few years of financial statements, financial ratios, stock price activity, share ownership, and more. Select the ‘Companies/Markets’ tab at the top of the screen and then select ‘Company’.

LexisNexis Academic

Contains ratio analysis and 3 years of financial statements for public companies worldwide. Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right) > select ‘Financial Overview’ from the left-column.

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains profiles, including financials, for over 40,000 public and private companies worldwide; financial information for private companies is generally limited. To access: select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select ‘Browse by company’.

Hoover’s IPO Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Contains information on companies that have filed an initial public offering (IPO) (1996-2014); such information includes IPO dates, pricing information, share information, underwriters, company exchange, business description, and contact details. To access: select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or browse specific issues according to date.

Analyst Reports

Thomson One

*Can only be used with Internet Explorer. Contains a comprehensive collection of analyst reports from investment banks, consulting and research firms. To search for analyst reports > enter company name or stock ticker symbol in the search box (upper left-hand corner) > select ‘Go’ > hover over ‘Company Views’ > select ‘Research’; or hover over the ‘Screening and Analysis’ tab > select ‘Research’ > change the date timeframe to receive additional reports > search by company, industry, or other keywords.

Watch the video tutorial: Analyst reports: Thomson One.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name or ticker symbol under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right) > once on the company’s profile page select ‘Investment Research’ from the left-menu.

Private Companies

Private companies do not issue shares that are publicly traded and are thus not mandated by securities regulators to report their financials and company information publicly. Therefore, information on private companies is limited. You may find a profile, contact information, names of senior executives, brief business description, date of incorporation, and sometimes broad annual sales/revenue estimates that are self-reported.

*When researching a private company, a great place to start is their website.

The following online resources may provide information on private companies:

PitchBook

This resource is a private equity and venture capital database covering a wide range of firms as well as startups. Search thousands of private equity and venture capital deals by hundreds of criteria. To use this resource you must create a personal user account with your Laurier email address.

LexisNexis Academic

Enter company name under ‘Get Company Info’ (bottom right).

You can also generate a company list in LexisNexis, using either an industry's NAICS or SIC code.

Watch the video tutorial: Build a Company List in LexisNexis

Hoover’s Company Records (via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)

Select ‘Full text from ProQuest Entrepreneurship’ and then enter the company name into the search bar, or select ‘Browse by company’.

Scott’s Canadian Directories

Online directory of contact information and profiles for Canadian manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and business services. Select ‘Account Login’ > build a search with different variables including geographic, demographic, products, and other indicators.

Directories of Canadian Companies

Use directories of Canadian companies to find suppliers, research competitors, check a company's federal corporation status and more. Search or browse the directories. Consult with various directories by sector.

Article Databases

Conduct a search for news, trade, or scholarly articles on the company in an article database. See the ‘Article Databases’ section of this guide.

Company Rankings

Canada only:

Report on Business, Top 1000 (Globe & Mail)

• Located in the WLU Reference Shelves – 2nd Floor, call number HG4090 .R45
• Ranks the 1000 largest publicly-traded companies in Canada; measured by assets and ranked according to their after-tax profits in their most recent fiscal year.

Financial Post Magazine, FP500: Canada’s largest corporations

• Located in the WLU Reference Shelves – 2nd Floor, call number HG4090.A1 F5
• Ranks Canada’s 500 largest corporations by revenue, assets, and profitability.

PROFITguide.com, Profit 500

• Ranks the fastest growing companies in Canada, by five-year revenue growth.

U.S. and International:

Fortune, Fortune 500

• U.S. companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years.
• Also available in print: WLU Reference Shelves - 2nd Floor, call number HG4057 .A258

Forbes, Forbes Global 2000

• Annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies, based on a composite score from equally-weighted measures of revenue, profits, assets, and market value.

Fortune, Global 500

• Annual ranking of the largest corporations in the world, by total revenues.

Inc., Inc. 5000

• Ranks the top 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

Article Databases

Articles (news, trade, or scholarly) are a great resource when conducting business research such as learning more about a company (public or private) or industry. Further, article databases bring not only online articles together, but other resources such as company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry reports, and other research reports into one search engine.

Use keywords in the following article databases to find relevant articles and other resources. For example, if you are searching for information on the strategic objectives of a particular company, search for the company’s name with keywords/phrases such as ‘strategy’ or ‘strategic direction’ or ‘strategic objective’.

Business Source Complete

ProQuest Business

Factiva

Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database

Scholars Portal Journals

Emerald Insight

Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPI.Q)

• Basic country research
• Advanced country research

Basic country research

Key resources:

BBC News Country Profiles

Provides a quick guide to the economics, politics and history of countries and territories, including quick facts, profiles of political leaders, an overview of the media market and a chronology of key events.

Europa World Online

Covers political and economic information and selected data on countries and organizations worldwide. Select a country from the drop-down menu and hit "Go".

globalEDGE - Global Insights

Global Insights provides international business and trade information on over 200 countries, 50 U.S. states, as well as nearly two dozen industry sectors, and many of the world’s trade blocs. Under "Global Insights", select from one of the four options: "By Trade Bloc", "By country", "By State", or "By Industry".

LexisNexis Academic

Offers country analysis, country briefings, country risk guides. From main page, click "Search by Subject or Topic", then under "People, Places and Things", select the "Country Information". Type in country name in search box. Click on "Advanced Options" and select same country from the drop-down menu, specify date and select the sources you want to search then click "Apply". Click "Search".

Mergent Online

Provides country statistical data. Select a country from the drop down menu under "Country Profile" (found on the right side, under the calendar).

U.S. Department of Commerce: International Statistical Agencies

Provides links to national statistical agencies arranged alphabetically by country.

World Bank: World Development Indicators

The World Bank's principal data source on the global economy, including demographic, social, economic, financial, natural resources and environmental indicators for more than 200 countries and 18 country groups. First select your country by searching or browsing the country list. Then expand the "Series" to select individual variables. Finally, click "Time" at the bottom to select the year(s) for which you want statistics. View data as a table, chart or map by selecting an output icon at the top right.

World Factbook

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency provides country-specific information, including country profiles and select data. Click on the box indicating “Please select a country to view”.

Advanced country research (risk, cultural intelligence, etc.)

Key resources:

ABI/INFORM Complete

Find country forecasts in ABI/INFORM Complete, which contains the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Country Finance and Forecast Reports. Once in the database, click the "Browse" link at the top, then select the link to the EIU Finance and Forecast Reports under Country Reports.* Scroll down and click on the link next to "forecasts." You can filter the results by country on the right under "Narrow results by."

*Additional country reports are available, including the Oxford Analytica Country Profiles.

Country and Regional Information

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Country Profiles

UK. Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Countries and Topics

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

International Monetary Fund: Country Information

Select a country from the alphabetical listing.

Marketline

Includes country analysis - PESTLE. Type in country name then select "Countries" from drop-down menu beside the magnifying glass. Click the search icon.

Passport GMID

Includes demographic, economics and marketing statistics for 205 countries. Click on the "Economies" tab and select a topic or use the keyword search box (top right corner).

Country risk research:

Coface

Find Country Risk Assessments for 160 countries, along with information on payment methods, debt collection and insolvency trends. Select a country from the drop-down menu (middle of page) and click "OK."

Factiva

On the search page, click on the "Source" field, search for "Economist Intelligence Unit" (EIU), then select "EIU - Risk Briefing". Select country of interest under the "Regions" field. Once country and source are chosen, click "Search".

Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR)

Published semi-annually by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

LexisNexis Academic

Offers country analysis, country briefings, country risk guides. From main page, click "Search by Content Type", then under "People, Places and Things", select the "Country Information". Type in country name in search box. Click on "Advanced Options" and select same country from the drop-down menu, specify date and select "PRS Risk Guide & Service" to search then click "Apply". Click "Search".

Watch the video tutorial Country risk: Lexis Nexis Academic

Passport GMID

Provides Risks and Vulnerabilities reports to assess the current economic situation across 85 core countries. To access the Country Briefings on Risks and Vulnerabilities, select Economy, Finance and Trade under the Economies tab at the top. Under Analysis Finder on the left, select Country Briefing from the drop-down menu. Then select a country from the drop-down menu (use the + sign to expand the options next to regions). Click "Go." See also the Business Environment reports.

Political Risk Yearbook

Includes all 100 of Political Risk Services' Country Reports, including political and economic risk analysis.

Worldwide Governance Indicators

"The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 215 economies over the period 1996–2016, for six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption." Click "Interactive data access", then click the "Country Data Review" tab. Under "Worldwide Governance Indicators" select indicator, year and country.

World Investment and Political Risk

"World Investment and Political Risk examines general trends in the global economy and FDI, corporate perceptions of political risk and risk-mitigation strategies, as well as the latest developments in the Political Risk Insurance industry." Please note that no new reports have been issued since 2013.​

Cultural intelligence/business abroad:

Canada and International Trade

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Canadian Trade Commissioner Service

Canada. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Country Insights

Centre for Intercultural Learning, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is Canada's "largest provider of intercultural and international training services for internationally-assigned government and private sector personnel." Select a country from the drop-down menu to find information on topics ranging from conversation styles to cultural stereotypes.

Doing Business

The World Bank Doing Business project provides measures of business regulations and their enforcement in 189 economies that allow for comparisons across countries and over time.

Exporting

Canada Business Network. Government Services for Entrepreneurs

PKF: Doing Business in

PKF International Limited provides information about the financial, legal considerations that could affect business dealings within a particular country.

U.S. Commercial Service

U.S. Department of Commerce

World Values Survey

The World Values Survey is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life. It consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries. Click “Data and documentation” and then click on “online analysis”. Click on a wave period and select a country to see the data.

Additional data & statistics for business and finance

Canadian data:

Detailed Data & Statistics subject page

CANSIM @ CHASS

Time-series data and Census results. Updated daily, if data available.

TriUniversity Data Resources (TDR)

A large collection of Canadian and international data and statistical resources shared by the TriUniversity group of libraries.

Economic and Financial data:

E-Statement Studies

Contains composite financial data, including ratios, on major types of industries.

Dun & Bradstreet Industry Norms & Ratios

Comprises of a set of business ratios

Financial Performance Indicators

Provides key financial ratios by industry groupings

Mergent (D&B) Key Business Ratios

Provides immediate online access to competitive benchmarking data

OECD iLibrary

Statistical databases that offer statistics and data in a variety of subject areas

UNdata

Large, comprehensive statistical database covering all countries of the world. Pulls together statistics from all the major UN sources.

World Bank: World Development Indicators

Development data from more than 200 countries

ILO statistics (LABORSTRA)

Access to data and metadata for over 200 countries or territories from LABORSTA, an International Labour Office database on labour statistics operated by the ILO Department of Statistics

IMF eLibrary

Includes Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS), Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), International Financial Statistics (IFS), and Government Finance Statistics (GFS)