Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System (IBES)

Key takeaways

• IBES (I/B/E/S) is a centralized database of sell‑side analyst estimates and company guidance for thousands of public companies.
• It aggregates forecasts for earnings, revenue, price targets, and other financial metrics, with historical coverage back to 1976 (international data from 1987).
• The database supports investment decision‑making, forecasting, and academic research.
• IBES is available via subscription through platforms such as Refinitiv, Thomson ONE, and Eikon and is owned by Thomson Reuters.

What IBES is

The Institutional Brokers’ Estimate System (IBES) compiles equity analysts’ forecasts and company guidance into a single, searchable database. It aggregates estimates from a broad range of sell‑side sources—major brokerages, investment banks, and independent analysts—so users can view consensus projections rather than relying on individual reports.

Data included

IBES contains:
* Earnings per share (EPS) forecasts and revisions
Revenue and other financial projections
Company guidance and KPIs (key performance indicators)
Price targets and analysts’ buy/hold/sell recommendations
Other measures such as net debt, enterprise value, and net income
* Historical estimate series and revision histories (data available from 1976; international data from 1987)

Users can filter and analyze data by fiscal year, fiscal quarter, or other timeframes to build forecasts and compare expectations over time.

How IBES is used

IBES serves multiple purposes:
* Investment research — provides consensus estimates and analyst recommendations to inform buy/hold/sell decisions.
Forecasting — benchmark for building earnings‑per‑share (EPS) models and financial projections.
Academic and empirical research — historical estimate and revision data support testing of market and accounting theories.
* Corporate analysis — compare analyst expectations against company guidance and results.

Several institutions (for example, academic centers) receive IBES datasets for research and teaching.

Variants and related databases

IBES has been adapted into different data products and academic feeds. Other widely used financial datasets, such as CRSP (Center for Research in Security Prices), complement IBES by providing price and market data for research and back‑testing strategies.

Pros and cons

Pros
* Wide analyst coverage across industries and regions.
Centralized, standardized access to analyst estimates and historical revisions.
Regular updates and quality controls to maintain data accuracy.
* Useful for benchmarking, forecasting, and empirical research.

Cons
* Relies on sell‑side analyst inputs, which can be biased by conflicts of interest.
Individual analysts’ forecasting methodologies are not always transparent.
Estimates can contain errors or lag revisions in real time.
* Coverage may be limited for smaller or niche companies.

Access and ownership

IBES is distributed via subscription through Thomson Reuters’ data platforms (including Refinitiv, Thomson ONE, and Eikon). It was originally created in 1976 and later acquired by Thomson Reuters.

Bottom line

IBES is a long‑standing, widely used repository of analyst estimates and company guidance that helps investors, portfolio managers, and researchers gauge market expectations. Its breadth and historical depth make it valuable for benchmarking and empirical analysis, but users should be aware of potential analyst bias, methodological opacity, and coverage limits for smaller firms.