GVKEY

GVKEY is a unique identifier used in the Compustat database to label a corporate entity. It is assigned by S&P Global Market Intelligence and functions as the primary key for firm-level data in Compustat, enabling consistent identification across time and variables.

The GVKEY is designed to be a stable reference for a company within the Compustat archive. For most historical records, the same GVKEY is used to link annual financial statements, market data, and other firm-specific metrics. In events such as mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, or reorganizations, new GVKEYs may be created for resulting entities, and linking tables within the CCM (CRSP/Compustat Merged) framework or other data mappings provide correspondence between pre- and post-event keys. This structure helps researchers track a company’s financial history even as names, tickers, or legal forms change.

GVKEY is distinct from other identifiers such as ticker symbols, CUSIP, CIK, or PERMNO. Tickers can change frequently and are not reliable for longitudinal analysis, while GVKEY is intended to be the internal anchor for data within Compustat and for cross-database linking. GVKEYs are commonly used to merge Compustat data with other data sources, including CRSP, enabling comprehensive firm-level analysis over time.

See also: Compustat, CRSP, CCM, data linking.