LibGuides: ACC 390 Financial Statement Analysis: Tips and Tricks

Company Research

Learn and use the company's ticker symbol (e.g., Southwest Airlines is LUV on the NYSE). It's highly useful when searching for company profiles, news, reports, etc. in lieu of (or in addition to) the company's name.
For aviation databases, try using a company's IATA or ICAO abbreviation (e.g., WN and SWA for Southwest Airlines)
If using the company's name, type it slowly to see if the database will generate the correct company automatically.
- Make sure you know the company's full, legal name (e.g., Google operates under Alphabet; Boeing is The Boeing Company). Do a quick search to verify the name, even if you feel sure.
- Watch for subsidiaries, divisions, or similarly-named companies.
When searching for a company profile or report, take note of the company's HQ location so you can verify that you're looking at the right company.

Use industry NAICS or SIC code in your search
- See section below on Industry Codes for details.
Combine code with keywords describing the industry - or alternate using one method then the other
Try multiple databases - coverage varies, so just because one database does not have the information you need does not mean that it can't be found in another database! Try them all.
Pay close attention to the publication date and geographical focus of industry reports to ensure the information you have is relevant to the company you are researching.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes are used to organize industries into categories (e.g., Retail, Transportation, Manufacturing, etc.).
Companies identify themselves as belonging to a specific industry according to either NAICS, SIC, or both.
These are useful to know when searching for industry information or competitors.
Use the links below to browse or search for a code based on a description or the code itself.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Scroll down to click on the download link for the NAICS publication at bottom left of page to view the entire list of codes. The descriptions in this manual are useful for identifying keywords and understanding how an industry is fits in among others.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
Click on the button/link for SIC Manual at top right of page to view the entire list of codes. The descriptions in this manual are useful for identifying keywords and understanding how an industry is fits in among others.