1. Identify the industry by finding first the company's SIC/NAICS code from Mergent (one of the databases we have available under “libraries”) or Bloomberg
2. Get information on the industry's sales over the past 5 years-if possible- (look in Bloomberg- the command is "BI"- Value Line Investment Survey or any other source) and its future outlook (from the same sources)
3. Identify the stage of the life cycle for the industry and the company
4. State the economic structure of the industry (i.e. monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition)
5. Discuss the competitive structure of the industry (Porter’s competitive forces)
- Bargaining Power of Suppliers
- Bargaining Power of Customers
- Threat of New Entrants
- Threat of Substitute Products
- Rivalry within the industry
- Complements