In Capital IQ:

• For broad industry sectors (energy, materials, consumer discretionary, consumer stables, healthcare, financial, information technology, telecommunications, utilities): mouse over Market Analysis and select Industries.
• For more specific industries:
  1. Mouse over Screening and select Companies.
  2. Type in the industry in the search box or select the industry by browsing Industry Classifications.
  3. Limit to public companies by clicking on Company Type, selecting Public Companies then click on Add Criteria.
  4. Place any other additional screens you wish.
  5. Click on View Results.
  6. Click on Add Display Columns to include the desired ratios or data points
  7. After viewing the results again, click the Excel radio button to export your results.

In Orbis:

1. Add Industry and other criteria such as Location
2. in the left-hand menu, click on Tools, then select New Analysis.
3. Select the data elements you want to compare and click on Next.
4. Select years and click on Next
5. Select display and click on Finish

See also: our Fast Answer, Aggregate financial ratios: including private company data