FAQ
Answers that keep analysis moving
Top questions about medians, sample size, industry codes, and report workflows. Need more help? Visit Support or use chat inside the app.
Why medians instead of averages?
Averages are easily skewed by outliers — a few very large companies with Net Sales far above the rest. Medians better represent the typical firm in the industry group.
How are Industry Metrics ratios calculated?
Financial ratios in Industry Metrics are not computed from a single median company P&L and balance sheet. Each ratio’s median is calculated separately, so values may reflect different firms across ratios.
How are Income Statement and Balance Sheet medians shown?
Median Company Income Statement line items are shown as a % of Net Sales. Median Company Balance Sheet line items are shown as a % of Total Assets.
What is the minimum industry group size?
The smallest groups we present contain 7 companies (less reliable). Prefer broader groups when possible. We automatically roll up when a size or year segment has fewer than 7 companies (for example, 4-digit SIC → 3-digit).
Statistical significance improves near ~30 companies — if regional filters leave too few peers, broaden selections and recalculate.
How are Small / Medium / Large defined?
We segment by industry-specific Net Sales percentiles — not fixed dollar thresholds across all industries. Upper 25% = Large, lower 25% = Small, the rest Medium.
Can I get company-level or more detailed expense breakouts?
No. Licensing and the proprietary dataset prevent releasing company-level data. Broader accounts (for example Other Operating Expenses) are not unpacked further; industry accounting practice determines what sits in those categories.
What does “Median Company” mean?
A virtual company that would show median performance for the characteristics presented. For Industry Ratios, each ratio is its own median and may represent different companies — see Median Company Benchmarks in the report for detail.
How do I find my industry (SIC / NAICS)?
Keyword search only matches words in SIC or NAICS titles. Use OSHA’s SIC search or the Census NAICS search, or Advanced Search to drill from major categories.
Industry Metrics vs Business Analyzer — which report?
Use Industry Metrics for peer-only trend reports (no company comparison). Use Business Analyzer when you want your company compared directly to peers with benchmarking context.
What statements are required?
Income Statement and Balance Sheet for most analyses; Net Sales and Total Assets are required. Placeholder $1 values can unlock Industry Metrics without real company figures.
How do I add a company logo?
Add during Add Company or Edit company on My Companies.
How do imports and exports work?
Import: XML or specific Excel layouts (one period per workbook). Multi-period Excel workbooks are not supported. Contact info@icfo.pro if import fails.
Export: Print/PDF from report tabs; Excel/Word export may be in beta.
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Send a ticket-style email with the URL where the issue appeared, or browse the glossary for metric definitions.