Library Guides: Finding Business Information Online: Ratios

What are they?

A financial ratio is a ratio of two numbers of reported levels or flows of a company. It may be two financial flows categories divided by each other (profit margin, profit/revenue). It may be a level divided by a financial flow (price/earnings). It may be a flow divided by a level (return on equity or earnings/equity).

Companies

Mergent Online
Provides immediate access to data on NYSE, AMEX, Nasdaq and other select regional exchange companies.
Coverage includes: history, business description, properties, subsidiaries, officers, directors, long-term debt, Moody’s rating, capital stock, income statement, balance sheet, statements of cash flow, auditors, exchange and ticker symbol, number of employees, number of shareholders, address, telephone number, annual stock price ranges, trustee, registrar, transfer agent, stock splits, annual meeting date, Moody’s news reports, and direct, real-time access to the EDGAR, the SEC website which includes are annual, quarterly, and special corporation records.
Date Coverage: Current
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Truncation: Truncation *
Factiva
Provides access to newspapers, journals, magazines, television and radio transcripts, photos, etc. from nearly every country worldwide in 28 languages. It also contains business and financial data on companies from around the world. Note: Off-campus users must use the VPN for access.
Also includes continuously updated newswires.
Date Coverage: Varies
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Truncation:Truncation: *; Wildcard: ?

License terms restrict access to MU students, faculty, and staff only.

User's Guide: http://proquest.libguides.com/factiva
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage
Provides information on companies, industries, stocks, mutual funds and the economy. Sources include Industry Surveys, Stock Reports, Bond Reports and Corporation Records.
Date Coverage: Current

Maximum Users: Unlimited

Industries

IBISWorld
IBISWorld includes financial ratios from RMA. When viewing an industry report, look under "Financial Benchmarks" in the left margin.
Research reports contain trends, statistics and analysis on market size, market share of competitors, and industry growth rates. Performance analysis includes emerging industry trends as well as recent production performance and 5 year forecasts. Each comprehensive study also examines details such as; the barriers to entry, operating cost structure (industry averages), technology & systems, and domestic & international markets. Tables and statistics include: Industry revenue, exports, imports, wages, and number of companies in the industry.
Maximum Users: Unlimited
Tutorial: http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu/login?url=https://clients1.ibisworld.com/about/us/videos/

Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios
REF HF5681.R25 I53, Ready Reference (ask at Reference Desk)
The information in this publication is organized by SIC code (see "SIC/NAICS Codes" tab for information on how to find industry codes).
The MU Libraries has copies of this publication going back to 1983/84.

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
REF HF5681.R25 T68 Ready Reference (ask at Reference Desk)
The information is organized by NAICS code (see "SIC/NAICS Codes" tab for information on how to find industry codes).
The MU Libraries has copies of this publication going back to 1975.

Factiva
Factiva provides ratios, but only for the most recent time period. To access them, you'll have to search on the name of a company within that area, e.g. Amazon to find online retailing industry ratios.

Click on the "Companies/Markets" link toward the top of the page.
At the next screen, enter the company's name in the search box.
Select its name from the list of results, then choose "Reports" on left.
In the dropdown box to the right of "Select a Template" choose "Ratio Comparison Report."