Business

Researching an industry includes exploring the size of the industry, whether it's growing or shrinking, how it's changing, whether it’s concentrated in certain geographic areas, how many companies are within it and whether there are any major players, what other industries or social and economic conditions it's intertwined with, typical revenues and expenses, and more.

1. We recommend learning the NAICS codes associated with your industry. What’s a NAICS code? Learn about them here.
2. IBISWorld is a super place to start your industry research. The team at IBISWorld prepares reports on hundreds of industries. Search by keyword, company name, or NAICS code. When you find your industry report, use the menu on the left to navigate through the chapters. You can also find U.S. Business Environment Profiles (such as price of goods, financial markets, value of construction, electric power consumption) and Key Trends lists (such as the fastest growing and declining industries in the U.S.). 
3. Nexis Uni compiles industry information from a wide variety of sources. Try the Advanced Search, then choose “Company and Financial”, then “Analyst Reports”, then type in your industry or topic like this: industry( topic ). Example: industry( nonalcoholic beverages ). Narrow results by date, location, or other filters.
4. Look for industry-level news and analysis in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times business section. Search for your topic and narrow the results by date and other filters.
5. You can also find useful information from trade associations, U.S. economic and labor data, and specialized indicator reports like the Yelp Economic Average. Learn more about these sources.