Abstract: To clear a blindspot in the way business leaders, analysts and investors make decisions about capital investments in various businesses, the present inventors devised, among other things, a machine learning based composite classification, search, and analysis systems and methods. One exemplary system automatically classifies businesses based on quantitative and qualitative business data according to a 4-class framework that spans traditional industry boundaries. This classification are based on a combination of spending patterns, financial metrics, and language to identify each firm's business model. The resulting business model is then utilized in conjunction with additional financial and non-financial metrics, securities analysis, leading and lagging indicators, and/or industry comparison to produce a score which can be used to compare business performance within and across classifications to generate superior performance and mitigate risks for business leaders and investment managers.