Industry Analysis Tools: IBISWorld, Statista, Gartner and AI Research

Pre-built industry reports

IBISWorld's Global Industry Reports draw mainly on federal statistical agencies, including the US Census Bureau, Statistics Canada, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Eurostat and China's National Bureau of Statistics. It adds data from the World Bank, the IMF, trade associations and the financial statements of major companies, then applies its own structured method. Forecasts after the current year come from its forecasting methodology.

Methodology changes can revise figures between report updates, so note the edition date in any citation. IBISWorld also adjusts US inflation using the Bureau of Economic Analysis price deflator, which affects whether revenue is shown in real or nominal terms.

Statistics libraries

Statista is a statistics library that collects figures from other publishers, government bodies and companies. It is useful for a quick chart or a headline number. We did not verify its methodology for this guide, so check its own documentation and the original source behind each chart before you quote it.

Advisory research

Gartner sells research subscriptions that include analyst calls, and much of its full text sits behind a client login. Gartner does not publish list prices. A third-party review of transaction data puts mid-market subscriptions at roughly $50,000 to $150,000 a year. Treat that as an estimate, and confirm terms with Gartner directly.

AI research compared with these

AI research reports answer a specific question and list the sources behind each claim. They search the open web and structured datasets, and they are built for questions that no standard report covers. Pre-built reports work better when you need a common definition used across peers. AI research works better when the question is new.

Hyperresearch is our editorial pick for this kind of report. It scored 77.7 on the DRACO benchmark in its own run in October 2026, ahead of Claude Research at 73.0 in the same test. Judge it on freshness, source checking and whether you can see its method, then run one of your own industry questions through it.

Whichever format you choose, write down the definition of the market you are measuring. Two reports that use different definitions can disagree for reasons that have nothing to do with the market itself.

Checklist

• Decide whether you need a standard profile, a statistic or a new answer.
• Check the edition date of any pre-built report you cite.
• Confirm the original source behind each statistic.
• Ask Gartner for current pricing and terms in writing.
• Test an AI research report on one question you already know the answer to.

Questions & answers

Sources for this entry

• IBISWorld global data sourcing
• Gartner research document abstract
• Gartner subscription review and alternatives
• Hyperresearch DRACO benchmark method

Vendor descriptions are attributed to the vendor. Prices change; confirm with each vendor.

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