LibGuides: Business: Finding Financial Ratios

Ratio Information

Ratio analysis involves using numerical information from company financial statements to determine key relationships. Ratios for specific time periods may be evaluated against ratios from other time periods for both internal and external comparative purposes.

Ratio analysis can be used to assess risk, estimate value, document trends, and to conduct an evaluation of a company against similar companies in the same industry.

Common ratios included in ratio analysis are quick ratio, current ratio, earnings per share ratio, debt to equity ratio, and price-earnings ratio. To find out more information about these ratios or ratio analysis consult a financial dictionary or glossary, such as the resources on this page.

Beginning Your Research

When conducting any kind of company research you should have a few key pieces of information easily at hand. For each company you are researching consider locating:

the full company name
the ticker symbol (if the company is public)
the industry in which the company competes
the SIC and/or NAICS codes under which the company reports

Books on Financial Ratios

RMA annual statement studies.
Call Number: Ref. HF5681.B2 R6 latest year (at the Reference Desk)
RMA Annual Statement Studies covers over 700 industries and provides nineteen ratios widely used in the financial services industry with the accompanying balance sheet information. Data is derived directly from 190,000 financial statements of RMA member financial institutions (US) borrowers and prospects. Included are various types of liquidity, coverage, leverage, and operating ratios. Data arrayed by asset and sales size. Six different asset and sales size categories are presented. Four years of trend data is available in each yearly issue. Includes descriptive pages that explain the formulas and data used for calculating the ratios. Organized according to NAICS Codes.
Business ratios and formulas : a comprehensive guide / 3rd ed. by Steven M. Bragg.
Call Number: ebrary HF5691.B73 2012
This book is designed for managers who need to understand the performance levels of their departments. It contains performance measurements for accounting, engineering, logistics, production, and sales departments. There are nearly 200 measurements itemized in this book. Each is accompanied by a complete description, an explanation of the calculation, an example, and cautions regarding its use.
Dictionary of finance and investment terms [electronic resource] / by John Downes, Jordan Elliot Goodman.
Call Number: Credo HG151 .D69 2006
More than 5,000 terms related to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, banking, tax laws, and transactions in the various financial markets are presented alphabetically with descriptions. Contains a helpful list of financial abbreviations and acronyms, illustrative diagrams and charts. A short-entry dictionary for business students, office reference, and private investors.

Almanac of business and industrial financial ratios / - by Leo Troy.
Call Number: Ref. HF5681.R25 A45 2012 (Latest 1 years on Ready Reference Shelf))
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Troy`s almanac provides updated performance data for 50 operating and financial factors in 192 industries, derived from the latest available IRS figures on US and international companies. The data for each industry are subdivided into 13 categories based on company size. Covers all variety of factors relating to operations, operating costs, financial performance, and an array of critical financial factors in percentages including debt ratio, return on assets, return on equity, and profit margins. Each table is divided into 13 asset sizes to facilitate comparison. Includes descriptive pages that explain the formulas and data used for calculating the ratios. Organized according to NAICS Codes.

Databases with Ratio Information

Websites

Reuters Business and Finance
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Search for a specific company and click on 'Ratios' from the company information page. Company, industry, sector, and S&P 500 ratios are included in this free resource.