Company Research
Learning to research a company has a number of benefits. First, skills in company research help prepare effectively for job interviews. A second benefit is the ability to research competitors or industries for strategic planning, market research, advertising, sales or public relations.The ability to research a company can be used in decisions relating to making personal investments in a particular company or working for a particular company.
The amount of information available about a company will vary greatly. The ownership and size of the company are the two most significant factors that contribute to how much information has been published about a given company. If the company you are researching is large or in manufacturing, it is more likely you will find information than if the company is small or in the service industry. The first step in your research is to determine if the company is a public or a private company.
Public Companies
Public companies sell stock to investors. A public company is required to file financial information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Only about 2% of all businesses are public. For public companies information is relatively easy to find. If you have established that your company is a public company, the next step is to determine if the company is a subsidiary. A subsidiary is a company that is more than 50% owned by another company called the parent company. If the company is a subsidiary, most of the available information frequently will deal with the parent company. Subsidiary information is usually buried in the parent company information and it is difficulty, if not impossible, to determine financial information about the subsidiary. A branch is a secondary location of a business. A branch carries the parent companies name and reports to the company headquarters. A division is a separate operating unit of a corporation. A division may have its own officers, but it is not incorporated and does not issue stock. Divisions often have a commonly known business name that is different from the parent company name.
Private Companies
For privately owned, also referred to closely held companies, little information may be available. They do not sell stock and are not required to publish financial statements as public companies are. Information on private companies may be difficult or impossible to find. If the company is a large one, there may have been some articles written about it in periodicals or business newspapers. A number of library databases have information on private companies.
If there is no information on a particular company, an overview of the industry to which the company belongs may provide helpful background material. For publicly held companies, financial data are almost always available.The amount of information depends upon the size and nature of the company.
It is useful to decide before you begin searching what kind of information you need about the company and how much.This will help determine the type of source to use. If you are looking for company profiles or histories, you might use a different source than if you want in-depth financial information. The remainder of this guide will describe selected sources of information used to find company information.
Finding Company Specific Policies and Practices
This can be a great challenge. Most companies are not required to make their policies and practices available to the public unless they are a government agency. Publicly traded companies are required to file some information with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but much of this is financial and not focused on policies and practices. It is even more difficulty to find information about private companies. You will need to try various strategies to find company specific policies and practices. The following sources might give some information:
- Company web sites
- Company directors, profiles, and Annual Reports
- Articles: newspapers, magazines and journals
- Company newsletters
- "Insider" information
- Contact the company
Insider Information
Insider information is information about a company's activities that has not been disclosed to the public. It might be equated to information about your family that you don't want know to the public. Insider information might include such areas as corporate culture, organizational charts, training materials, personnel policies, customer lists, employee benefits, employee salaries, employee satisfaction, research and development in progress, workplace diversity or any other areas within the company that relate to the internal workings of the company. It is frequently very difficult, if not impossible, to find information in these areas.
Initial Public Offering (IPO)Companies
A company that is the process of changing from a private company to a public company is called an IPO company. The first step towards going public is to issue an Initial Public Offering to stock to the public. Like private companies, IPO companies can be hard to research. They do not have a large number of documents that are on file and available to the public. The following sources might be helpful:
Standard Industrial Classification and North American Industrial Classification System
Many databases and reference sources are organized by the Standard Industrial Classification code (SIC) or the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), so you will need to know this information of search for company or industry information.
- Standard Industrial Classification
- The SIC codes classifies companies and industries by their primary line of business. The govrnment developed this system in order to provide a standard method for collecting and analying economic information. You can use SIC codes to identify a company's competitors and to locate industry financials and ratios.
- North American Industrial Classification System
- NAICS is replacing the SIC system. NAICS provides codes for over 350 new industries. Many databases still use the SIC but more are changing over to the NAICS. You may need to use both codes to find information on your company or industry.
Search strategies for company information
In order to do a thorough analysis of a company you will want to:
- 1. Identify the Company:
- Where is the company located, who owns it, is it public or private, what is its mission and corporate history, what are its major product(s) or services?
- 2. Examine Financial and Market Information: What are this year's sales figures and net income? You will probably want to know not only this year's figures but also figures for the last 3-5 years as well so you can chart a trend analysis. What share of the market does the company hold? What is the company's marketing strategy?
- 3. Locate Investment Reports:
- What is the company's earning potential?
- 4. Survey the Industry and Competition:
- What is the forecast for this company's industry as a whole? Who are its major competitors?
- 5. Locate Current News and Articles:
- Articles in business magazines and trade journals often provide valuable insights into a company's operations, strategy, and competition.
- Chamber of Commerce Publications
- Frequently the Chamber of Commerce of the city will publish listings of industrial firms in their metropolitan area.
- City Directories
- City directories are useful for checking names, addresses, and telephone numbers of residents and business firms.
- Telephone Directories
- The classified sections of telephone directories are useful for identifying local firms in any industry.
- Directory of Corporate Affiliations
- Helps to determine "who owns whom" among companies throughout the world.Includes separate volumes for U.S. public companies, U.S. private companies, and non-United States based companies, both public and private. It also includes a master index to all companies mentioned in the set and a useful Brand Name Index.
- Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
- This is a directory of American manufacturers. It provides one source for finding products, services, or suppliers. You can search by type of product/service, company name or brand name. It provides company address, phone, business description and link to company home page.
- Forbes Largest Private Companies
- Though less visible than they're publicly traded counterparts, private companies have plenty of clout in the U.S. economy. Each company entry includes links to the company's website, number of employees, sales ranking, and a brief company description.
- Fortune 500
- The Fortune 500 company's list includes top performers, industry medians, company list, industry lists, and CEO list. You can create different lists using the Custom Ranking. Links to Fortune's short company profiles are provided. Other lists from Fortune are available from the Fortune site.
- GSI Public Companies
- GSI offers users an integrated platform that delivers mission-critical business filings, relevant law and expert guidance in a powerful workflow tool.
- Hoover's Handbook of American Business REF HG 4057 .A28617
- Contains profiles of 750 of the largest American companies. Profiles include company history, location with phone and fax numbers, web address, up to ten years of financial data, lists of products and competitors, list of subsidiaries and affiliates, and names of key officers.
- Hoover's Guide to Private Companies REF HF 5035 .H668
- Contains profiles of 900 largest and most influential private companies in the United States. Profiles include company history, location with phone and fax numbers, web address, products and operations, and competitors. Financial information is less complete than for public companies since private companies are not required to release financial data.
- Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies REF HF 5030 .H668
- Contains profiles of 600 companies that have demonstrated growth and potential for further gains. Most companies that are listed have sales between $10 million and $1 billion. There are a few private companies with well-known products or reputations but most of the companies are public. Profiles include up to six years of key financial data, lists of products and key competitors, names of key officers, addresses, phone and fax numbers.
- Hoover's Handbook of World Business REF HF 3010 .H65
- Contains profiles 300 of the largest, most influential, and most interesting companies based outside the United States. Most of the companies are public but there are also many private companies and a selection of government-owned entities. Profiles include company history, location, executives, products and operations, competitors, and financial information for 10 years.
- Hoover's Online (Note: Advanced features on this database are only available through a subscription. The library does not subscribe to this resource).
- Provides recent news articles, Company Capsules provide a good overview with links to additional web sites, news articles; Financials gives current financial information; Industry Zone gives industry overviews.
- International Directory of Company Histories. REF HD 2721 .I63
- The volumes in this directory cover 3,000+ of the world's largest and most influential companies. Also includes growth companies that are making headlines. This publication includes the histories of companies that are leaders in a particular industry or geographic location. Essential company data are given at the beginning of each entry. Information on the company's founders and important developments in the company are traced. Includes sources of additional information for each company. The Library has this publication from volume 1 to volume 58. The information from this publication can now be found through the Business and Company Resource Center database.
- NetAdvantage
- This database from Standard and Poor's contains detailed profiles of over 10,000+ public companies. Each description includes company background, stock and bond descriptions, balance sheet and earnings information, officers and directors, capital expenditures, subsidiaries and more.
- Publicly Traded Companies
- Thousands of publicly traded companies with financial data online.
- Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
- Lists 85,000 U.S. companies. Ranks all companies by sales within SIC codes. Special features include: listings of the 1,000 largest privately held companies, 1,000 largest publicly held companies, and 1,000 largest employers. The information from this publication can now be found through the Business and Company Resource Center database.
- U.S. Security and Exchange Commission
- Public companies financial information is available from the EDGAR database at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Click on the "Search for Company Filings" and enter the name of the company. You will be taken to a list of filings for that company. These can include:
- 10-K: Comprehensive annual review of the company's business activities. Includes all financial statements and discussion of company performance. The filings can be lengthy and contain more financial information that the Annual Report to Shareholders.
- 10-Q: Quarterly un-audited financial report.
- 8-K: Report of current events and important changes not previously reported.
- Annual Reports Library
- A collection of original annual reports and proxies from corporations.
- Annual Report Gallery
- For company annual reports published on the Internet.
- EDGAR database
- From the SEC, for Securities and Exchange Commission database of company information as filed on the 10K.
- SEC Info
- Contains US and Canadian securities information. Search by SIC, business name, or various geographical methods, city, zip, telephone area code. Search for IPO, M&A, and Insider Trading filings.
- Value Line Investment Survey Weekly REF HG 4501 .V26
- Analyzes and reports on about 1,700 stocks in 90 industries.The statistics, charts, and brief explanatory text are reviewed and updated, industry-by-industry, on a rotating basis every 13 weeks. Data include a ten-year history on 23 key investment factors, future estimates for the next three to five years; quarterly sales, earnings dividends, Value Line Ratings, review of late developments and future prospects. Consult the index to find the page number for the company report you are seeking. The Library does not have an online subscription for this source.
- The Milwaukee Business Journal Top 25 REF HF 5068 .M5 T66
- This annual publication is a collection of the top 25 lists that have appeared in The Business Journal. The book is organized in chapters by industry. Each of the chapters lists the top 25 firms, organizations, and individuals appearing in that industry’s category.
- Business Rankings Annual (Library purchases every other year). REF HG 4057 .A353
- A guide compiled from rankings that have appeared in over 1,000 periodicals, newspapers, and other sources. More than 8,00 listings present the 'top ten' from these various rankings. Arranged alphabetically by subject and with a comprehensive index, it is useful in determining Market Share, leading companies in an industry, or sources for specific information about an industry or product. It is also a very useful resource for findings rankings within small industry groupings. This publication is online in the Business and Company Resource Center database.
- Business Week 50
- Business Week's annual ranking of the best performers of the Standard & Poor's 500, with a report card on all 500 companies. This offering includes the complete Standard & Poor's 500 Performance Ranking and all relevant articles and tables published in the printed issue. To determine how the companies in the S&P 500 index stack up against one another, Business Week ranked all 500 using eight key criteria of financial success looking at growth in sales, profits, and return to shareholders, measured performance over both one and three year, analyzed profit margins and return on equity.
- Forbes Lists
- Contains various lists of top web sites, locales, companies, places, and people.
- Forbes 200 Best Small Companies
- We judged candidates--all with revenue of $5 million to $750 million and share prices above $5 as of Oct. 1--according to return on equity, as well as sustained sales and net profit growth over 12-month and five-year periods. Too much debt, signs of a downturn in the future or a whiff of legal troubles are all disqualifiers.
- Inc. 500
- Each year, Inc. magazine produces the Inc. 500, a list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies.
- Advertising Age Crain Communications
- Web site of the popular journal devoted to advertising
- bizjournals American City Business Journals, Inc
- Provides links to 41 business journals in the United States. Subject searching in current or back issues is available.
- Bloomberg News Bloomberg
- Provides real-time and archived financial and market data, pricing, trading, news and communications tools in a single, integrated package to corporations, news organizations, financial and legal professionals and individuals around the world.
- Business 2.0 Cable News Network Inc.
- Business news from CNN Money
- Business Journal Business Journal
- Milwaukee business news
- BusinessWire Berkshire-Hathaway
- Full-text breaking news releases, multimedia and regulatory filings for companies and groups throughout the world.
- CNN Cable News Network Inc.
- Latest news headlines
- CNN Money Cable News Network Inc.
- From the editors of CNN and Money Magazine, this page brings up to the minute news on business and financial topics.
- Dismal Scientist Moody's
- Economic indicators and analysis
- PR Newswire United Business Media
- Breaking news from tens of thousands of organizations around the globe.
- Better Business Bureau Council of Better Business Bureaus
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- BigCharts MarketWatch, Inc.
- Access to professional-level research tools such as interactive charts, quotes, industry analysis and intraday stock screeners, as well as market news and commentary.
- BizWeb Business Guide BizWeb
- BizWeb is a web business guide to 46290 companies listed in 208 categories.
- Business.com Business.com
- Developed by a team of industry experts and library scientists, the Business.com directory contains more than 400,000 listings within 65,000 industry, product and service subcategories.
- Corporate Financials Online Corporate Financials Online, Inc.
- This service is for chief financial officers, investor relation's officers and other managers of publicly held corporations who want broad, rapid dissemination of their companies' quarterly earnings news releases and other investor information, at a fixed annual price.
- DCERates - Online Currency Coverter Discount Currency Exchange
- Currency converter and current currency exchange rates.
- Industrial Quick Search Industrial Quick Search, Inc.
- Comprised of product/service specific vertical directories for finding products, services, manufacturers and suppliers.
- Industrial Quick Search Industrial Quick Search, Inc.
- Comprised of product/service specific vertical directories for finding products, services, manufacturers and suppliers.
- Kompass Kompass
- This website can be used to find information about companies and what they do. More than 23 million references to the products and services of over 1.8 million companies.
- NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext
- Home to approximately 2,672 world-class issuers, which includes operating companies, closed-end funds and exchange traded funds.
- Quicken Glossary Intuit, Inc.
- Glossary of business terms.
- SI: Special Issues SI: Special Issues
- The list of lists is a database of ranked listings of companies, people and resources available on the Internet. The lists are organized by subject headings. While membership is required for the rest of the website, the List of lists is a free service
1. IDENTIFY THE COMPANY
Company web sites are good starting points in looking for information about the company. A company's web site will usually include information about the company's mission, the products it manufacturers and sells, the company's annual report and other financial information. When using a company's web site it is important to read the information being provided with some caution. The company is only going to provide “positive” information about it's self.
Company directories list key facts on businesses, such as their address, total sales, names and titles of major officers, and products and services. Some directories also have information on market share, profit and loss statement, and subsidiaries. Some examples of commonly available directories are:
2. EXAMINE FINANCIAL AND MARKET INFORMATION
BACKGROUND AND FINANCIAL SUMMARIES
These publications provide information taken from companies' annual reports to stockholders, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports and other materials. They discuss a company's history, major business involvements, basic products and services, and display financial statements for a number of years. The most extensive report is the 10-K filed annually with the SEC.
Annual Report of Company
The annual report to shareholders is prepared by the company itself to communicate the year's business activities. It describes the financial performance of the company, highlights significant events of the company and shares what plans the company has for the future. Often it is used as a public relations tool. Most companies provide copies of their annual report online as a link on their homepage.
Financial Ratios
Comparing a company's financial ratios with those of the industry gives an idea of how the company is performing in relation to the industry standard of average.
Market Share
Market share is a company's sales stated as a percentage of total sales in a given market. Market share information can sometimes be difficult to find. Information found in trade journals, investment reports, and/or annual reports can be helpful. Searching the databases using the keyword "market share" with the product, service, brand or company name can produce information.
3. LOCATE INVESTMENT RESEARCH REPORTS
These publications analyze a company's performance, make predictions for its future and offer advice on investments.
4. SURVEY THE INDUSTRY AND COMPETITION
Rankings can be useful when comparing companies.They can provide a broad measure of performance within an industry.These directories rank major companies by sales, number of employees or other financial measures within specific industries or locations. Market share is an important indication of competitive strength. Market share refers to a brand's share of the total sales of all products within the product category in which the brand competes. Market share is determined by dividing a brand's sales volume by the total category sales volume.
Business News
Articles published in leading business magazines, trade journals and newspapers often provide insight into an industry's structure, strategy, and competition.