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, business model 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 is 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.