IBISWorld

IBISWorld
Name	IBISWorld
Type	Private
Industry	Market research
Founded	1971
Founder	Philip Shaw
Headquarters	Santa Monica, California
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Industry reports, market research, company reports, risk ratings

IBISWorld is a market research firm providing industry intelligence, company reports, risk ratings, and strategic analysis to corporate, academic, and government clients. The firm produces sectoral coverage spanning manufacturing, services, retail, and professional industries, and distributes content via subscription platforms and custom consulting engagements. Its reports are used by analysts at multinational corporations, financial institutions, consultancies, and universities.

History

Founded in 1971 by Philip Shaw in Los Angeles, the company expanded through the 1980s and 1990s as demand for syndicated market research grew among clients such as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. During the 2000s IBISWorld broadened its geographic footprint with offices near Santa Monica, California and operations reaching United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, mirroring the global expansion strategies of firms like Dun & Bradstreet and S&P Global. Strategic investments and acquisitions paralleled moves by competitors such as Hoover's and Euromonitor International, while technological shifts in data delivery followed trends set by Bloomberg L.P. and Thomson Reuters. The firm navigated regulatory environments influenced by statutes in United States and European Union jurisdictions and engaged with institutional subscribers at entities like Harvard University and Stanford University.

Services and Products

IBISWorld's portfolio includes syndicated industry reports comparable to offerings from Frost & Sullivan, Gartner, and Forrester Research, alongside bespoke consulting similar to practices at McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group. Core products include industry risk ratings used by credit teams at Citigroup and Bank of America, company profiles used by teams at Ernst & Young and KPMG, and market size estimates referenced by procurement groups at Walmart and Target Corporation. The firm supplies content through online portals accessed by libraries such as the Library of Congress and by governmental agencies including U.S. Census Bureau analysts. Ancillary services mirror information offerings from Nielsen and IHS Markit with thematic briefings, trend forecasting, and custom research projects for entities like United Nations agencies and regional development banks.

Methodology and Data Sources

Reports combine primary and secondary research drawing on sources such as filings with Securities and Exchange Commission, trade association data from bodies like National Retail Federation and American Bankers Association, and statistical releases from agencies including Bureau of Labor Statistics and Eurostat. The firm synthesizes data akin to methods used at Moody's Analytics and Oxford Economics, employing time series analysis, input-output modeling, and competitive landscape assessment informed by filings from corporations such as Apple Inc., General Electric, and ExxonMobil. Methodological transparency references industry standards promoted by organizations like International Organization for Standardization and practices observed in journals such as The Economist and Harvard Business Review. Subscribers receive metrics comparable to datasets from Statista and PitchBook for benchmarking and scenario planning used by strategy teams at Siemens and Boeing.

Markets and Clientele

IBISWorld serves commercial clients across sectors that include finance, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology, with users in multinational firms like Microsoft, Amazon (company), Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. Academic subscribers include faculties at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, and University of Sydney for coursework and research. Public sector clients encompass procurement and policy units similar to those in United States Department of Commerce, Australian Bureau of Statistics, and municipal planning offices in cities like New York City and London. The firm’s market positioning competes with Gallup, Pew Research Center, and regional research houses operating in markets such as China and India.

Criticism and Controversies

Critiques mirror those leveled at syndicated research vendors including concerns about methodological opacity raised in commentary from outlets like The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times. Academics at institutions such as University of California, Berkeley and London School of Economics have debated the accuracy of small-market estimates versus granular firm-level databases like those from Compustat and Orbis. Client disputes have involved questions of licensing and access similar to controversies experienced by Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer over subscription pricing and paywall models, while watchdogs in Australia and European Commission have scrutinized data privacy and procurement practices in the information services sector.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

The company is privately held and its governance includes executives with industry experience across research and publishing sectors akin to leadership at Dow Jones and The McGraw-Hill Companies. Board members have backgrounds in finance, technology, and media, reflecting common cross-industry appointments seen at firms like RELX and Thomson Reuters. Capital arrangements have occasionally involved private equity transactions similar to deals executed by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital within the information services industry. Operational hubs are situated near media and tech clusters including Silicon Beach and the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Category:Market research companies