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Business Tutorial: Ratios
Find Industry Ratios using Ratio Books
Ratio books are the best source for industry ratios at Pardee Management Library. The library has five ratio books, each of which covers different industries in varying levels of depth. The table below will help you choose the best book for your needs.
Almanac of Business & Industrial Financial RatiosAKA Troy |
Industry Norms & Key Business RatiosAKA Dun & Bradstreet |
IRS Corporate Financial RatiosAKA Schonfeld |
RMA Annual Statement StudiesAKA Robert Morris |
Financial Studies of the Small Business
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
classificationHow are the industries classified? |
NAICS | SIC | NAICS | NAICS/SIC | Industry grouping chosen by editors |
date
of data
|
Latest edition: Location: |
Latest edition: 2008/09 edition. Data is from 1/08-12/08
|
Latest edition: 2009 (24th ed). Data is from
7/06-6/07 |
Latest edition: 2008/09 |
Latest edition: 2007. |
Older editions: 1971/72, 1976-1988, 1992-1999 at HF5681.R25 T68, 2nd floor. |
Older editions: 1982/83-1998/99 |
Older editions: 2004 - (18th ed) 2008 (21st - 23rd eds) Location: Reference Collection, Industry Information Table 1 |
Older editions: 1977-1996 |
Older editions: 2004-2006 "Five Year Trend" section also gives some historical data. |
|
sampling methodWhere does the data come from? |
IRS data | Public and private companies in the D&B Financial Information Base | IRS data Stratified probability sample of tax returns |
RMA member banks |
Selected from over 30,000 financial statements contributed by CPA firms |
sample sizeHow many companies were used to calculate the ratios for my industry? |
See the first line of each table for "Number of Enterprises" | Listed in parentheses beside the year date (on the fourth line) | See "Base No. of Companies" near the bottom of each page | See "Number of Statements" line near the top of each table | Each industry has one page labeled "ALL SIZES." See "Total # of Firms Reporting" on the third line of this page. |
company size classificationsCan I get figures specifically for small businesses or industry leaders? |
Companies are divided into twelve size categories (divided by columns across top of page) | No size classifications | Companies are divided into four size categories (divided by columns across top of page) | Companies are sorted into six categories by assets (left side of table) and sales (right side of table) | Varies by industry. Some industries are divided into four size categories, in which case each category appears on a separate page. |
profitable vs. unprofitableDoes the book provide separate data for companies with net income and companies with net loss? |
For each industry, Table 1 covers all companies and Table 2 covers only those with net income. | No division | Note the headers at the top of each page. The "Profit" column gives data for companies with net income; the "Loss" column covers those with net loss. | No division | No division, but one section of the book gives figures only for the 25% most profitable companies in each industry |
number of ratios & averagesHow many ratios and averages (balance-sheet items) does this book give? |
34 ratios |
14 ratios Balance sheet items are given as both averages (left column) and common-size (right column) |
79 ratios |
16 ratios With the exception of Net Sales and Total Assets, balance sheet items are given ONLY in common-size (percent) |
16 ratios |
notesIs there anything special about this book that I should know? |
Three values are given for each ratio: the upper quartile (UQ), median (MED), and lower quartile (LQ). If you aren't sure which to use, go with the median. | Three values are given for each ratio: the upper quartile, median, and lower quartile. If you aren't sure which to use, go with the median (the middle number). | Three values are given for each ratio: the upper quartile, median, and lower quartile. If you aren't sure which to use, go with the median (the middle number). |
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advantagesWhat does this book have that the others do not? |
Most recent data (each edition is based on previous calendar year) | Page 41 of this book gives a "national outlook" of average ratios for all US industries combined. | Gives side-by-side comparative historical data (last four years) beside current values. | Only book that focuses exclusively on small businesses. Gives hard-to-find figures for advertising, insurance, payroll, and travel expenses. |