Wikipedia:WikiProject Companies/Lists of companies by country

The purpose of this page is to define a set of guidelines for Lists of companies by country, to help ensure that

These lists meet the letter and spirit of WP:LISTS
A somewhat consistent look and feel is introduced, with variations as appropriate
Concerns raised in previous AFDs (spam magnet, lack of defined scope) are addressed.

Lead in section

Every list should include a section at the start clearly defining and narrowing the inclusion criteria for the list, as the scope based upon just the title is too broad and open to interpretation.

The suggested inclusion criteria is "notable companies which have or previously had a significant presence in the country."

Notable is defined as any company which meets WP:CORP, regardless of whether they have an article on Wikipedia.

Significant presence is defined as:

Companies that were founded in that country
Companies that have their world headquarters located in that country
Companies that generate 50% or more of their revenue in that country*
Companies that have greater than 50% market share within their industry in that country*

*Addition based upon these would require verifiable sources confirming that the company meets this criteria.

For the purpose of these lists the term "company" would exclude legal entities established as an investment vehicle, such as open ended investment companies or mutual funds.

The lead in could also include useful information about companies in that country, for example:

How companies are legally structured
The types of businesses and industries that are found in that country

The list

Wikilinks should be provided to any categories or other lists already covering companies within this country (such as lists of companies on a stock exchange in that country). Any companies included within those categories/lists should not be duplicated here.

It is preferable that one sortable list be created, including at least the following:

Company Name (as a Wikilink, regardless of whether an article exists or not)

This could be split into multiple columns for both English & native language versions of the name

Other optional information such as the following could be included where there is sufficient interest in maintenance:

Year founded
ICB / GICS information
Headquarters (to identify the city/region within which the headquarters is located)
Asset information (as of last fiscal year-end)
Revenue information (as of last fiscal year-end)
Stock Exchange Membership & ID
Notes

Used to identify whether the company is active or defunct, ownership details and other relevant information

External links

It may be appropriate to include an External Links section, providing links to websites which provide commentary on companies within that country (for example, a news article on that country's biggest companies). Links to specific company websites or sites that only discuss one company would not be appropriate.

To help avoid the perception that these lists could be used for spam all company names should be Wikilinks, regardless of whether an article exists or not.

References

The use of references would be beneficial in situations where the addition of a company to the list could be considered controversial based upon the established inclusion criteria.

Images

Where appropriate and available, free images could be added in order to enhance the list.