Access is provided through the WRDS platform. This platform can be accessed using a Day Pass. A video explaining the use of the Day Pass is available here.
If you are using a WRDS Day Pass, do not use the email option in any query screen. This is not necessary and will not work!
The Day Pass is sufficient for access to the data, both on campus and remotely. In exceptional cases, for example if you need access to the programming backend in WRDS, you can use a WRDS account. You can apply for a personal account by clicking 'register' at the top of the WRDS home page, and filling out the application form. Bachelor students should apply for a Master account type.
Content
Compustat (Capital IQ) is a collection of databases with data on publicly listed companies.
- Global
It provides financial and market data on more than 80 countries. Information on country specific indices is also available. The annual and quarterly report data are presented in a generic (uniform) format that makes data from different countries comparable. The currency of the financial data for each company can be different. Coverage: the data goes back to approximately 1987.
- North America
North America covers financial information on publicly listed companies from (mainly) America and Canada. All data is in US dollars and goes back to approximately 1950. The financial data is based on SEC reports from the Edgar database. Information on some market indices is available. Some specific part databases are available that cover data on segments. The segments allow you to get a clearer picture regarding the complexity of the company as well as the main sources of it's revenue.
- ExecuComp
ExecuComp contains data on salaries and compensation of executives.The database starts in 1992 and covers only listed companies from the index S&P 1500. The main source of the data are the SEC DEF 14A proxy filings in the Edgar database.
- TruCost
ESG data on publicly listed companies worldwide. The subscription has been arranged by the Finance department at the VU and covers approx. 2013 - now. Using the part databases it is possible to measure environmental impact across key dimensions for over 15,000 companies and to assess environmental costs. The data includes specific scores as well as emissions data and data on fossil fuels on a company level. The data also allows you to assess exposure to seven climate-change physical risk indicators, analyze exposure to carbon pricing risk under different future climate change scenarios and evaluate alignment with the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees C from pre-industrial levels.
N.B.:
1) The Compustat Global and Compustat North America database have financial statement data for different types of companies. Some companies, however, are both financial type as well asindustrial type companies and they sometimes do more than one financial statement for a specific fiscal year.
2) The Trucost database can have more than one ESG type score for a specific fiscal year for a company. Make sure to check the data for this if this is important.
Documentation and manuals
Several good manuals are available in the Support section of the WRDS platform. These include an online manual and two specific content guides: ‘Understanding the data’, and ‘Using the data’.
Other information
The links below provide some practical information on using Compustat:
- Compustat Translation table: file lists old codes for the data variables from the legacy versions (FTP) of Compustat databases and matches them to the new names for these variables.
- Compustat Stock exchange codes: the list is a Compustat list of (historical) international stock exchange codes. Not all codes are still in use. This makes it easier to identify at which exchange(s) companies have specific listings
- Some interesting blogs with background information:
University Library
