Library Guides: MGT 410: Industry Research

Getting Started With Industry Research

Identify the company's primary NAICS code. NAICS codes are used in the United States to classify businesses based on their primary economic activity. They are used to retrieve information from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other major federal government entities, as well as many professional and academic research databases.

NAICS Search: Search for an industry using a keyword or 2-6 digit code
Company Profiles: NAICS codes are listed on company profiles in Mergent Online

Industry Profiles and Reports

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
IBISWorld is the best starting point for industry research. Industry profiles are broken into chapters with current information about product, market, economic, and financial trends.
This industry research database contains reports on industries in the China, Global, and U.S. markets. The U.S. content is further subdivided into: Industry Reports classified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), Specialized Industry Reports for industries not adequately covered by NAICS, US Industry State Reports, US State Economic Profiles, US Industry iExpert Summaries, US Specialized Industry iExpert Summaries, US Business Environment Profiles, and US Business Environment State Profiles. Global industry reports are strong in the manufacturing sector. Each report contains an “at a glance” overview (including SWOT analysis), performance data, outlook data, products & markets analysis, competitive landscape analysis, lists of major companies, operating conditions, and key statistics. Statistics include financial ratios and industry averages from the Risk Management Association.
NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
NetAdvantage provides detailed, comprehensive reports in the Industry Surveys tab.

Updated daily. Provides a comprehensive, professional source of investment information and analysis on industries and companies. Full text coverage includes stock, bond, and mutual fund guides and reports; earnings and dividends reports; comprehensive company information; industry surveys for 52 major U.S. industries; and directories of companies, executives and security dealers
Mergent Market Atlas This link opens in a new window
Open the Industry tab to find industry overviews and performance data. Click on Reports to download ICB industry reports.
Comprehensive profiles for publicly traded companies including financial data, ratios, business segments, descriptions, sustainability and ESG information, SEC and annual filings, officers, directors, and analyst reports. Also provides country risk profiles and ICB Industry Reports. Quickly access a multitude of company, industry, index, ESG, and economic data views and reports. Search the following industries: technology, telecommunications, healthcare, financials, real estate, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, industrials, basic materials, energy, and utilities. Mergent Market Atlas will replace Mergent Online in 2025.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Find industry profiles, trade publications, and other articles relevant to industry activity. Search by industry keyword or NAICS code, and use Advanced Search to select publication types.
Access full-text articles from thousands of scholarly business journals, magazines, and trade journals from the fields of marketing, management, accounting, finance, and economics. Plus company and industry profiles, SWOT analyses, country economic reports, financial data, and investment reports. This database includes rigorous curation and indexing of open access (OA) journals. Full-text non-journal content includes company profiles, informational records, case studies, industry reports, business executive interviews, working papers, and over 75,000 videos from the Associated Press.

Data and Statistics

Bizminer This link opens in a new window
Industry Market Reports provide data on companies, financial, and market activity for specified industries and geographic areas.
Quickly search startup and small business statistics, such as annual sales and market share, failure rates, and entrepreneurial activity rates. Reports are available for states and local areas as well as the national level. Data includes access to 9000+ markets and more than 10 million companies.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Provides statistics, industry and market research reports, and data for over 170 industries.
At statista.com, access statistical data for more than 170 industries from over 80,000 topics in areas such as business, education, finance, media, politics, society, and technology. Statista gathers data from over 20,000 sources, including market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases, and the reports, charts, infographics, and statistics can be viewed online or downloaded.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Industry Data
Analysis of economic performance of industries, including GDP, input, output, employment, and production data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Industry Data
Workforce, wage, and price statistics by industry.

Trade & Industry Association Websites

Trade and industry associations are organizations made up of businesses from specific industries or sectors. Many trade and industry associations conduct research, publish educational materials, and engage in a variety of public relations and political activities. Their websites can be sources of data and information useful for industry research.

A simple Google search for an industry term + "trade association" can help you find trade associations relevant to an industry.

Examples: