Guide to Finding
Company Information
Public vs. private | Parent vs. subsidiary
Basic information | Financial statements | Stocks and bonds
Analyst reports | Competitors | Market share | Ratios
Company histories | Private companies | International companies | Articles
Most companies can be classified as either "public" or "private." Public companies sell stock to the general public, so anyone can buy shares in the company and become an owner. Because of this, the federal government requires public companies to release a great deal of information about their finances and operations.
Private companies are usually held by individuals or families. Because shares in the company are not available for sale to the general public, the companies are not required to release information about themselves. It can be much more difficult to find information about a private company.
Many large companies actually own all or part of other companies. The owning company is called the "parent" and the company that it owns is called the "subsidiary." If the parent owns the subsidiary completely, the financial information about the subsidiary will probably not be available in any detail. Instead, the financial information for all the subsidiaries will be combined into the "consolidated" financial statements of the parent company. Sometimes the parent only owns a fraction of the subsidiary; in those cases, the subsidiary may release its own financial statements.
Looking for lists of subsidiaries? Want to check whether your company is a parent or a subsidiary? Try these sources.
Print: Directory of Corporate Affiliations
Business Library index tables
Use the index to find your company. Lists subsidiaries and ownership, along with standard directory information.
Database: Mergent Online
Database available in Bruno Library only
Use Mergent to find the subsidiaries of a parent company. First, search for your company. Under the "Company Details" tab, choose the "Subsidiaries" link. You will see a table for all subsidiaries, their percentage owned by the parent, and their country.
There are several databases that will provide a great deal of basic information about a company. Here are a few of the best.
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Search for your company to see a fact sheet. Use the blue menu on the left side of the screen to get more information, such as brief financial statements, history, competitors, and more.
Database: Business & Company Resource Center
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the search box at the top of the page to search for your company. Use the tabs to look at different kinds of information such as histories, financials, investment reports, and rankings.
Different kinds of financial statements provide different types of information about a company. For information on assets and liabilities, look at the balance sheet. For revenues and profit, look at the income statement. Public companies report their financial statements in several different filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In addition to the numbers, these filings and reports may contain text with more information about the company.
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Search for your company to see a fact sheet. Use the menu on the left side of the screen to get annual or quarterly financial information.
Database: Mergent Online
Database available only in the Bruno Library
This database contains very detailed information. Search for your company, then use the "company Financials" tab to get data and analysis. Use the "EDGAR" tab to view the complete text of SEC filings; use the "Annual Reports" tab to view a pdf version of the company's annual report to shareholders.
Web: EDGAR
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
View the complete text of companies' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stock and bond prices are reported regularly on numerous free websites and in newspapers like the Wall Street Journal. The resources below provide additional background and details.
Print: Value Line Investment Survey
Available at the Bruno Library reserve desk
Value Line analyzes stock performance and gives recommendations for buying and selling. Companies are grouped by industry, and the industry performance is also analyzed.
Print: Standard & Poor's Dividend Record
Available in the Bruno Library reference area, call number REF. HG 4908 .S72x
Provides a record of quarterly dividends issued by companies, along with declared date, ex-dividend date, etc.
Database: Mergent Online
Database available only in the Bruno Library
Search for your company, then look in the "Company Details" tab. The section called "Long Term Debt" gives information on bonds and notes; the section called "Capital Stock" gives information on common and preferred stock, including stock splits, shares outstanding, etc.
Print: Mergent Bond Record
Available in the Bruno Library reference area, call number REF. HG 4905 .M78x
Lists many kinds of bonds, in particular corporate bonds. Gives Moody's rating, yield-to-maturity, call dates, recent prices, etc.
Web: BigCharts
http://www.bigcharts.com
Need a graph of your stock's performance? Visit this website and use the "Quick Chart" button at the top of the screen. The website will provide a chart of the stock's performance for the period you choose, along with trading volume. The site also provides other interesting tools for monitoring stock market performance.
Analysts at investment and research firms track company performance so they can advise their customers or sell the information to other investors. These databases provide access to analyst reports.
Database: Investext
Database available only on campus
Investext contains the full text of reports from investment banking firms on both companies and industries. Search for your company to see a list of analyst reports. Each entry in the list gives the title of the report and the name of the firm; below the name of the firm is a link to the pdf version of the report. Content varies by firm, but most reports focus primarily on stock performance.
Database: Business & Company Resource Center
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the search box at the top of the page to search for your company. Use the "Investment Reports" tab at the top of the page to get a list of available reports. These reports are part of the Investext database, described above.
Database: Business Source Premier
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the green "Company Profiles" button at the top of the page to get to the profile for your company. Many profiles contain a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) for the company.
Want to know who your company is competing against? Here's the easiest place to look.
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Search for your company to see a fact sheet. Use the blue menu on the left side of the screen and click on "Competitors" to get a complete list.
Database: Business & Company Resource Center
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the search box at the top of the page to search for your company. Use the "Rankings" tab, then click on the "Market Share" tab below. Market share data is not always available under this tab; you can also try clicking on the "Industry Overview" tab and the "Market Research" tab underneath. If this doesn't work, use the search box at the top of the page to search for your company's industry and look under these tabs again.
Use financial and profitability ratios to compare your company's performance to the industry's performance. (To learn how to find industry ratios, see our Guide to Finding Industry Information.)
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Search for your company to see a fact sheet. Use the blue menu on the left side of the screen and click on "Financials" and then "Comparison Data."
Database: Factiva
Database available only in the Bruno Library
Click on "Companies/Markets" in the green bar near the top of the page, and use the search box to find your company. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Put a check in the checkbox next to "Key Financial Ratios" in the Custom Report box, then click on the green "View Report" button.
Database: Mergent Online
Database available only in the Bruno Library
Search for your company, then click on the "Company Financials" tab. Next, click on "Ratios."
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Search for your company to see a fact sheet. Use the blue menu on the left side of the screen and click on "History."
Print: International Directory of Company Histories
Available in the Bruno Library reference area, call number REF. HD 2721 .I63
Over sixty volumes provide company histories for a wide range of companies throughout the world. Look in the index of the last volume to find the most recent chapter on your company. Use the volume and pages shown in bold print to get the most complete information.
As explained at the beginning of this guide, it can be difficult to find information about private companies. Here are a few suggestions.
Database: ReferenceUSA
Database with on-campus and remote access
This database is an online directory of more than 12 million businesses. Use the "Quick Search" tab to search by company name or use the "Custom Search" to create a search form for searching by geographic area, yellow page category, company size, etc. Results lists give data such as contact person, number of employees, and estimated sales.
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
This handy database includes information on private companies. Entries may not be quite as extensive as those for public companies, but much good information is available.
Database: Factiva
Database available only in the Bruno Library
Sometimes the best place to look for information on private companies is in the business press. Articles about companies and industries will often reveal useful information. Factiva is a good database to use for this purpose, since it covers thousands of specialized industry and regional publications. You could also use Business & Company Resource Center or Business Source Premier. In Factiva, type your company's name in the free text box, and set the date dropdown box to an appropriate time period. In the "More Search Options" section of the screen, you might want to set the "Search for free-text terms in:" dropdown box to "Headline and lead paragraph" to help target your search to the most useful articles. Now click on the green "Run Search" button to see your results.
Database: Hoover's Online
Database with on-campus and remote access
Hoover's Online includes profiles of many companies from outside the United States.
Print: Principal International Businesses
Available in the Bruno Library reference area, call number REF. HF 54 .U5 P74
This directory lists companies and their contact information for countries worldwide.
Database: Business Source Premier
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the green "Company Profiles" button at the top of the page to get to the list of available profiles. Many profiles cover companies outside the United States.
Print: Mergent International Manual
Available in the Bruno Library reference area, call number REF. HG 4502 .M66x
This reference work provides detailed information on major public companies worldwide. It gives company description, subsidiaries, abbreviated financial statements, and information on long-term debt and capital stock.
To get the latest information about a company's strategy and performance, consult articles in business news magazines, financial newspapers, and industry trade publications. Here are some places to find articles.
Database: Business Source Premier
Database with on-campus and remote access
Use the search screen to look for articles. Put the company's name in the "Find:" box; for best results, you could change the "in" box to "CO Company Entity."
Database: Business & Company Resource Center
Database with on-campus and remote access
For most specific results, use the search box at the top of the page to search for your company. Click on the "News/Magazines" tab to see a list of articles on the company.
Database: Factiva
Database available only in the Bruno Library
Type your company's name in the free text box, and set the date dropdown box to an appropriate time period. In the "More Search Options" section of the screen, you might want to set the "Search for free-text terms in:" dropdown box to "Headline and lead paragraph" to help target your search to the most useful articles. Now click on the green "Run Search" button to see your results.
Database: ABI/INFORM
Database with on-campus and remote access
ABI/INFORM offers articles from a wide array of sources, including journals, industry publications, regional business news publications, and the Wall Street Journal. For best results, click on the green "Advanced Search" tab at the top of the screen. Put your company name in the search box, and change "Citation and abstract" to "Company/Org." You can use the tabs at the top of the results list to look at trade publications or newspapers only.
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