WRDS: Wharton Research Data Services: What is WRDS?

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is the leading, comprehensive, Internet-based data research  service used by academic, government, non-profit institutions, and corporate firms. WRDS manages the data  and delivers it in a seamless, unified, and consistent form.  WRDS provides the user with one location to  access over 200 terabytes of data across multiple disciplines including Finance, Marketing, and Economics.    WRDS provides flexible data delivery options including executing research and strategy development on the  WRDS computing cloud.

WRDS is designed for advanced quantitative analysis of markets and companies, typically using statistical analysis software. Users looking for overview information are advised to select a different database from our ACCT 601, Company Information, or Industry Information guides.

WRDS use is restricted to authorized UST faculty, staff, and students. Commercial use is not permitted.

Current Students, Faculty, and Staff Access Only:

Hit the "Register" link in the top menu bar and submit a request for your individual username and password to access WRDS.  The request will be sent to the WRDS administrators at St Thomas for review.  We will process your request upon receipt.

1. Go to http://wrds.wharton.upenn.edu
2. Below the login box, click "Register for a WRDS account".
3. Fill out the account request form.
4. Click "Register".
5. Your request will be processed within a couple of days.

Note: WRDS is instituting Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) beginning at the end of November 2022. You will need to verify your email, register for a new account with Duo Security, and then decide whether to use their mobile app or the web interface to do the two-factor authentication. You will know when you need to register a device for two-factor authentication if, when you log in to WRDS, a message appears alerting you that you need to enroll. | 2FA Instructions

WRDS data is compiled from independent sources that specialize in specific historical data.  The main sources for St Thomas are The Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), Standard & Poor's CompuStat, and The Institutional Brokers Estimate System (I/B/E/S), as detailed below.  

• Center for Research in Securities Pricing (CRSP):  the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, maintains security data for the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ stock markets. Unique identifiers -CRSP has developed unique security identifiers in order to trace stocks over time. Daily stocks - the library subscribes only to the daily stock data which goes back to 1962. 
• CompuStat: is a database of U.S. and Canadian fundamental and market information on more than 24,000 active and inactive publicly held companies. It provides more than 300 annual and 100 quarterly Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flows, and supplemental data items. (via Standard & Poor's)
• Institutional Brokers Estimate System (I/B/E/S): Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S (EYE-biss) Summary and individual analyst forecasts of company earnings, cash flows, and other important financial items, as well as buy-sell-hold recommendations. 

We have access to several other datasets as well. See the WRDS website for more information.