Hints & Tips: Comparing a Company to Its Industry

Evaluating the performance of an individual company by comparing it with that of its industry as a whole is quick and easy, using the right sources. Several databases available at IESE Library have this functionality: Orbis, Amadeus, Sabi, Thomson One Banker and Factiva. Select the database you want to use from the E-resources list and follow the instructions below:

Orbis / Amadeus / Sabi
1. Select the database you want to search in (Orbis for companies worldwide, Amadeus for European, or Sabi for Spanish businesses).
2. Type in the company name in the search box.
Select the proper entity if more than one appears.
2. Click on Peer Report.
A Peer Report that compares a subject company to a group of companies will be retrieved. Three categories of peer groups are available: standard, industry and own.

Thomson ONE Banker
1. Type in the company name in the companies search box.
2. Click the Company Analysis mode, and then click Comparables. The Portfolio section opens by default to the Peers category, if available.
After you have selected your company (e.g., IBM), you can compare your company to its peers by ICB Subsector, ICB Industry Group, GICs Sector, GICs Industry Group, GICs Industry, GICs Sub-Industry, SIC codes. You can even create a custom peer set or use an existing set by selecting a category from the Comparables menu.

Factiva
1. Click on Companies/Markets tab from the green band across the top.
2. Click on Company from the white band across the top.
3. Search by company name, RIC or Ticker.
4. On the company's page, cursor down to Peer Group. You can also obtain more information by clicking on Reports, and then on Comparison Reports. You will obtain a report of your company compared to its industry, sector and S&P500.