what is the institutional brokers estimate system ibes 
the institutional brokers estimate system ibes is a database used by brokers and active investors to access the estimates made by stock analysts regarding the future earnings of publicly traded american companies ibes is often written as i b e s understanding the ibesibes serves as a central location for all current analyst estimates for stocks it also incorporates company guidance the estimates of projected future earnings that companies publish on a quarterly and annual basis and update periodically as needed the first iteration of the ibes database was created by a brokerage firm in 1976 and traded hands several times landing at financial analytics firm primark before being purchased by thomson reuters in 2000 213the database provides summary information and detailed projections gathered from analysts and brokers from the major international brokerages as well as local independent analysts it draws on analyst estimates on performance measures for companies across all industries these include estimates of revenue earnings per share price targets net debt enterprise value and net income among other factors users can break down data by year by fiscal quarter and by other timeframes that are used to measure and anticipate a company s performance the database includes recommendations from the analysts on whether to buy hold or sell shares in the public companies they cover ibes is designed to be a centralized system to assist decision making about securities 