Is the Company:
Public,
Private,
or a Subsidiary?
- If the company is public:
- Note the ticker symbol, NAICS and SIC codes, and exchange on which the company's stock is traded. Publicly traded companies are required by law to disclose financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and therefore public companies are much easier to research.
- If the company is identified as being private:
- Since privately held companies are not traded on stock exchanges, they are not required to divulge any financial information, hence finding extensive information on a private company can be difficult. Business publications are often the best source of information on a private company's activities.
- Subsidiaries and Affiliates:
- Company data analysis only pertains to publicly traded, parent companies. A company's subsidiaries are not analysed individually. Try searching the parent company's annual reports, and business news and journals, for information on the activities of a subsidiary.
Company Profiles, SWOTs, & Analysis
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Mergent Online contains global business and financial information on over 15,000 domestic and international public companies. Highlights include several year's worth of annual reports and extremely detailed financial data. The Sawyer Library has three licenses for simultaneous use of Mergent Online, therefore when ending the session, please "Logout."
- Hoovers (via Mergent Intellect)
Hoovers provides an overview, history, a description of products and operations, summary financial statistics, and a list of competitors, annual reports, news, and tweets. - Standard and Poor's S&PNetAdvantage
This tool aims to give users the information they need to choose investment strategies. From the 'Simple Search' [Resources] > "Company Profile" results: be sure to read the Stock Reports (+ the business description), the linked Industry Survey and the "How to Analyze" section, and take note of the links to competitors.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
In addition to articles, BSC offers SWOTs.
Run a search for the name of the company, then look in the left side bar for 'Source Types' and choose 'Show more.' Depending on the company, SWOTs may be available. - Business Insights This link opens in a new window
NOTE: In this database, when searching for a public company, it is best to search by using the company's ticker symbol. Results may include investment reports, SWOTs, market research, and market share reports.
