Using Ticker Symbols and CUSIPs in I/B/E/S Queries.

The primary company identifiers are the "Official Ticker" (OFTIC), "IBES Ticker" (TICKER) and CUSIP.

The IBES Ticker is the IBES permanent company identifier, and will not change over time. The IBES Ticker is analogous to the Compustat GVKEY and CRSP PERMCO variables. IBES follows the convention of using the "@" character as the first character of the IBES Ticker for all non-U.S. and non-Canadian companies.

The Official Ticker is the ticker representing the company stock on a public stock exchange. Note that this ticker can change over time for any given company.

I/B/E/S provides an 8-digit CUSIP. The first 6 digits refer to the company, and the last 2 refer to a specific issue. CUSIPs can change over time, but are never reused. CUSIPs are only for US and Canadian companies. For all other companies, the CUSIP variable will contain a 6-digit SEDOL code.

Sector/Industry/Group Codes, also known as S/I/G codes (SIGC), are provided in some queries for informational purposes and to allow the user to create subsets of the data based on individual company's line of business. The convention used by I/B/E/S to classify companies is loosely based upon the S&P 500 Industry groupings for US companies and the Morgan Stanley Capital International Industry Classifications (MSCIP) for international companies. Over the years as companies were added that did not fit these conventions, several additional S/I/G codes were added to the I/B/E/S list. Sector is the broadest division with the Industry and Group becoming more specific. Unfortunately, we don't know of any programs to convert IBES SIGC to SIC.