Company Research Basics
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About this Guide
This guide will discuss some of the basic concepts about performing company research. It is designed to get the business researcher started in the right direction. Please note that this guide is neither complete nor comprehensive, as new information will be added as necessary. Many of the resources listed below are subscription databases and may only be accessed by current students, faculty, and staff of Ohio University.
Availability of Information
There are several factors that will determine the availability of company information. These are discussed below.
Public or Private
Public Companies are companies that are traded on a stock exchange. Because public companies have stockholders, they have to provide information to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the public at large. Private companies do not have publicly-traded stock, so they do not have to provide information to the SEC or to the general public.
As a result, there will generally be a great deal more information for public companies than private companies. In general, there is a wealth of information available for public companies. Hints for finding information for both public and private companies will be discussed below.
Size of Company
The type and size of the company will determine how much information you will be able to find about a particular company. For example, it will be much easier to find information about a larger company such as Wal-mart, as opposed to a smaller company such as Bob's Foodworld.
Location of a Company
The location of a company will also play a part in how much information is available. As a general rule, it will be easier to find information about an American company as opposed to companies in other countries. This is basically a result of the fact that most of our business resources come from U.S. content providers. However, due to the global nature of business, more international company information is becoming more available. Also note that it will be easier to find information for international companies that are traded on an American stock exchange (NYSE, AMEX, etc) than for companies that are not.
Newsworthiness of Company
Often the visibility of a company in the media will determine how much information is available. If a company has been in the news, either for positive or negative reasons, it is likely that many newspapers, journals, magazines, and trade publications may have articles about that company.
Insider Information
"Insider Information" refers to information that is pertinent to the internal workings of a company. Insider Information can include things such as corporate culture, employee satisfaction, benefits, workplace diversity, etc. It is often very difficult to find this type of information, because companies generally do not release this type of information. When companies do release this type of internal information, you should regard this information with caution. Any information that comes directly from a company may be very biased towards a positive image of the company.
Company Information Sources
Below are various places to look for company information. Please note that the list is not comprehensive and will be updated as needed.
Company Publications
Company Web Sites
Company web sites can be great places to start when looking for information. A company's web site may contain information about a company's line of business, the products/services it sells, contact information, press releases, and annual reports (generally for public companies only).
When looking at a company's web site, one must be on the lookout for the inherent bias in the information on the site. Companies are not usually going to post negative information on their web sites, so most information will have a more "positive spin". Business Researchers will want to make sure other sources confirm the information on the web site.
Company Annual Reports
An annual report is a document that a company makes available to its shareholders each year. The report normally includes a profit and loss account and balance sheet, as well as a directors' report and an auditor's report. Annual reports can be as plain as an ascii text document, or they can also be full color documents.
If a company is public, it has to submit an extensive version of the annual report, called a 10-K, to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Private companies do not have to submit an annual report to the SEC as their stocks (securities) are not sold to the public. Generally, annual reports are not available for private companies. The purpose of filing with SEC is "the disclosure of important financial information through the registration of securities. This information enables investors, not the government, to make informed judgments about whether to purchase a company's securities. While the SEC requires that the information provided be accurate, it does not guarantee it. Investors who purchase securities and suffer losses have important recovery rights if they can prove that there was incomplete or inaccurate disclosure of important information." (SEC website)
For information on how to find an annual report, look at the guide for Company Annual Reports.
Company Profiles
Company Dossier (Lexis Nexis)
Company Dossier allows you to find company profiles for companies. Dossier provides a snapshot, recent news, corporate hierarchy (parents and subsidiaries), financial information, legal information, and intellectual property information. Dossier even allows you to create a custom report with user-defined criteria.
Hoover's Handbooks
Hoover's Handbooks (reference books) contain informative, up-to-date, profiles of major companies and other enterprises. Profiles usually include an overview; history; listings of executives; locations; products/operations; competitors; and historical financials. This is a good resource to use if you just need a very basic snapshot of a company.
Hoover's Online
Hoover's Online contains company, industry, and market information for U.S. and international companies. A Hoover's report for a public company generally includes the following information:
- Factsheet
- Overview
- History
- People
- Products/Operations
- Competitors
- Financials
- News
- SEC Filings
Hoover's reports for private companies will contain considerably less information, as information for private companies is not as readily available. Hoover's Online is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Business Source Complete
Business Source Complete contains company profiles for many U.S. and international companies. The reports, provided by Datamonitor are generally very brief, but useful nonetheless. Many of the reports contain swot analyses, which can be useful in analyzing a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Business Source Complete is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Factiva
Factiva is also another great place to look for company profiles. The information in Factiva company profiles is very similar to Hoover's Online, although Factiva has more extensive coverage of international companies.
To access the company information section of Factiva:
- Click on the "Companies/Markets" link at the top of the database page.
- On the next page, click on the "Company" link at the top of the page.
- On "Get Company Snapshot" page, Search for your company by name or ticker.
- On the next page, Click on the "Reports" link on the left side of the page.
- Finally, select one of the two company profile reports available.
Note: Only three users may access the database at one time. This database is only available to members of the Ohio University Athens campus.
Company Histories
International Directory of Company Histories
The International Directory of Company Histories (reference book) is an excellent resource for finding in depth company histories. This multivolume, annually-updated set provides detailed information on the historical development of the world's most important companies. Please note that this resource contains a great deal more historical information than most online resources.
Comparing Company Financials
Company Dossier Compare Companies(Lexis Nexis)
Company Dossier allows you to compare up to five companies. Data includes assets, liabilities, income statement, and ratios for each company. Financial data may be downloaded to Excel. For a demonstration of how to compare companies in Dossier, take a look at the Comparing Companies with Company Dossier Screencast.
Hoover's Online
Hoover's Online compares current company financials of companies in the same industry. This information is available in the "Competitive Landscape" section of a company report. Please note that you may not change companies, the date range, or change the information in the report. Reports generally compare a company with two or three of its closest competitors, the industry averages, and the stock market as a whole.
Mergent Online
Mergent Online contains global company information, annual reports, EDGAR filings, current news stories, and some industry reports. Mergent Online includes:
- U.S. Company Data
- U.S. Company Archives Data
- U.S. Annual Reports
- International Company Data
- International Company Archives Data
- International Annual Reports
- Institutional Holdings Data
- Insider Trading Data
- FactSheets
- FactSheets Express
Mergent Online is a very powerful database. It is particularly useful in comparing company data for multiple companies with user-specified criteria . To learn how to compare company financials with Mergent Online, please take a look at the Comparing Companies With Mergent Online screencast.
Note: Only five users may access the database at a time. Mergent is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Research Insight
Research Insight (accessed via Alden Library computers only) contains time series data on over 11,000 actively-traded American and Canadian companies. Up to 20 years of financial data are included for each company. Also contains data for approximately 11,000 inactive U.S. companies. Data are compiled from companies' annual and quarterly shareholders' reports, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 10K and 10Q reports, daily news services, and direct company contact.
Research Insight is a very powerful database that is extremely useful for finding and comparing financial information. The database can be quite complex, but the Research Insight User Guide can assist with some of the more common features of the database.
Thomson One Banker
Thomson ONE Banker offers you quick and easy access to quotes, earnings estimates, financial fundamentals, market moving news, transaction data, corporate filings, ownership profiles and research from industry-leading sources. Note: Works only with Internet Explorer.
Investment Publications
Investext Plus
Investext Plus is a great database if you are looking for an analysis of a company or a particular industry. The database contains reports from actual brokerage firms analyzing company securities and market sectors.
Note: Investext Plus may only be accessed by members of the Ohio University Athens and Lancaster campuses.
Value Line Investment Survey
Value Line Investment Survey (print resource) is an excellent resource to use when conducting an analysis of a company, or when looking for potential investment opportunities. Value Line reports on and analyzes approximately 1,700 stocks in over 95 industries. Each company's report is updated quarterly.
Mergent Equity Research Reports
Mergent Equity Research Reports (print resource) contain individual analyst equity reports on over 4,000 large and mid-cap U.S. companies. Each company report is updated quarterly with weekly updated reports on over 100 companies.
Standard & Poor's Stock Reports
Standard & Poor's Stock Reports contain "qualitative and quantitative in-depth S&P research, analysis and tools on more than 1,500 U.S. and 300 non-U.S. corporations, including qualitative buy/sell/hold S&P STARS* opinions.
Company News/Journal/Periodical Articles
All of the sources above are excellent for company information. However, for the most up-to-date company information, the business researcher should look for articles in newspapers, journals, magazines, and trade publications. Some suggested resources for articles are below.
Business & Industry
Business & Industry indexes more than 1,000 of the world’s most authoritative business publications, including trade and business journals, industry newsletters, and a broad collection of regional, national and international newspapers. This database is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Business Source Complete
Business Source Complete contains over 11,000 periodicals indexed and abstracted, with more than 10,000 full text, covering management, economics, finance, accounting and international business, among others. This database is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Factiva
Factiva, a "collection of more than 9,000 authoritative sources includes the exclusive combination of The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times™, Dow Jones and Reuters newswires and the Associated Press, as well as Reuters Fundamentals, D&B™, and Bureau van Dijk company profiles." This database may only be accessed by members of the Ohio University Athens Campus.
Lexis Nexis
The Business News section of Lexis Nexis covers news from the world of business. If you just want to search Business News in Lexis, you must do the following:
- Click on the News tab at the top of the page
- Select "Business News" in the "Select Sources" drop-down menu
This database is available to all Ohio University campuses.
Additional Resources
For tips on finding industry research information, take a look at the Industry Research Basics guide. Also, be sure to check out the resources in the categories below.
