Company Information

This research guide provides a wealth of resources for anyone doing research on U.S. or International Private and Public Companies. It includes books, electronic databases, and websites with company descriptions, history, financials, and recent news developments, as well as company directories, affiliations, market share, and rankings. Additional company information can be found in the Career, Investing, and Company Annual & Financial Reports Research Guides.

Annual Reports & 10K's

Mergent Online [About] Works best with Internet Explorer.
Search for a company by company name or by ticker symbol. After selecting a company, select the "Annual Reports" tab for annual reports in pdf. format. For the company's 10K, select the "Edgar Search" tab. Edgar filings can be searched by company name, by specific filing type, by date and for specific text within filings. Documents can be downloaded into Excel or Word. 

LexisNexis Academic [About ]
From the main search page, go to Business, select SEC Filings and Reports; under Company Information, choose "SEC Annual Reports to Shareholders." Filings will be listed in reverse chronological order. Exhibits attached to 10-K filings will be listed as separate documents.

See also, Company Annual and Financial Reports.

Company Profiles and Analysis

Datamonitor Company Profiles
Available on Business Source Complete  [ About ]
Reports include company description, history, key employees, major products and services, top competitors, company view, locations and subsidiaries. Some include SWOT analysis.

Hoover's Company Records
Available on LexisNexis Academic [About]
Data on select public and private companies, includes a summary of the company's operations, its history, a list of officers, products, key competitors, and up to ten years of financial data. The same information can be found in Hoover's handbooks located on Table 2 in the Reference Area at Pardee Library, and Hoovers.com (proprietary information limited to subscribers).

Mergent Online [About] Works best with Internet Explorer.
Information on U.S. and International Public companies. Data includes business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, capital stock, balance sheet, and income statement. Financial statements are presented in detailed "as reported" form and in native currency. The financials can also be displayed in other currencies.

Value Line Investment Survey
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 F49 and X HG 4501 V262
One page reports on each company cover all information of interest to investors including: present performance, probable price performance, beta, current ratio, etc. Thirteen editions cover companies by broad industry groupings. Reports on all 3,500 companies are updated quarterly.

International Directory of Company Histories
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HD 2721 I63 1988
Multivolume set provides accurate and detailed information on the historical development of many of the world's largest and most influential public and private companies. Data on selected nonprofit organizations is also included.

For more information see News in this guide.

Bloomberg [About] (Pardee Library access only)
Provides current news and prices from financial markets, industries, commodities, and publicly traded companies from around the world.

LexisNexis Academic [About]
Company financial information can be found in the "Business" section of Lexis-Nexis Academic, under "Company Financial" and "SEC Filings & Reports". Descriptions of Edgar/SEC filings are found at the bottom of the SEC Filings and Reports Search form.

Mergent Online [About] Works best with Internet Explorer.
Contains financial data on U.S. and International Public companies. Data includes business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, capital stock, balance sheet, and income statement. Financial statements are presented in detailed "as reported" form and in native currency. The financials can also be displayed in other currencies.For a description of Edgar /SEC filings, click on the Edgar Definitions tab at the top of the search form.

U.S Securities and Exchange Commission - Edgar
To locate a filing for a company, click on Companies and Other Filers.  Descriptions of the SEC filing forms.

For more information on annual reports and company financials see Company Annual & Financial Reports and Major Investment Services in Investing.

Private Company Financials

Private company financials are much harder to find because private companies are not required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Below are some possible sources for publicly available financial data.

Company Dossier through LexisNexis Academic [About]
Create list of international or U.S. companies by industry, geographic area, and revenue.  Rank U.S. companies by sales.

Hoover's Company Records
Available on LexisNexis Academic [About]
Data on select public and private companies, includes key competitors.

How to find Information About Private Companies
Pardee Reference - General Business
X HD 2771 H695 1996
Handbook on finding information about private companies, includes advice on constructing a search, as well as various sources.

US Company Directories

For company directories of specific industries, see Industry Information in the Career Resources Guide.

Company Dossier through LexisNexis Academic [About]
Create list of international or U.S. companies by industry, geographic area, and revenue.  Rank U.S. companies by sales.

Hoover's Company Records
Available on LexisNexis Academic [About]
Data on select public and private companies, includes key competitors.

Reference USA [About]
Contains information on over 10 million businesses and organizations in the United States. The database can be searched by geographic area, SIC code, industry or product names, headquarters, location, employee size, and estimated sales.

D&B Million Dollar Directory
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HC 102 D8
Five volumes. Basic business information on 160,000 companies, mainly private (140,000). Special features: banking and accounting relationships are noted, the board of directors is listed, and vols. 4 and 5 cross-reference businesses by SIC code and geographic location.

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
http://thomasregister.com
Website provides contact information for over 168,000 U.S. and Canadian companies, 68,000 product and service categories, thousands of online suppliers and website links including company catalogs with photos, specs, and performance tables. Also available in 1999 Print version (23 volumes) Pardee Reference X T 12 F06.

Ward's Business Directory of US Private and Public Companies
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HG 4057 A575
Seven volumes. Basic business information on 120,000 private and public companies, with a geographic reference. Special features: Vol. 5 offers national rankings by sales within SIC codes. Vols. 6 and 7 cover state rankings, including evaluations of industry ranking and other business statistical information. Vol. 8 ranks companies by sales under the 6 digit NAICS code.

International Company Directories

Hoover’s Handbook of World Business
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HG 4009 H66
Provides profiles of major global enterprises. Also, includes lists of the 100 largest companies ranked by sales, profits, employees, and more. Top companies are also listed by industry.

International Companies and Their Brands
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HF 54 U5 I55 1995/1996
Gale trade names directory includes international manufacturers, importers, and distributors; their addresses and consumer products.

Mergent Online [About] Works best with Internet Explorer.
Contains financial data on U.S. and International public corporations. Data includes business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, capital stock, balance sheet, and income statement. Can be searched by country, SIC and NAICS code using advance search. Also available in print -
Mergent International Manual, Pardee Reference X HG 4509 M66 1999 (Table 2).

Principal International Businesses
Pardee Reference - Company Information
X HF 54 U5 P74
Dun & Bradstreet's World Marketing Directory presents up-to-date information on approximately 50,000 leading enterprises throughout the world. Businesses are organized geographically, by product classification and alphabetically. Information includes business name, address, telephone, fax and telex numbers, parent company name and location, annual sales volume, total number of employees, lines of business, SIC code, and chief executive.

See also, International Company Directories in Career Guide.

Market Share

TableBase [About]
Statistical data on companies, products, industries, markets, demographics and countries. Tabular data is drawn from statistical annuals, trade association reports, government agencies, international organizations, newsletters and journals. Please note: When you are through using TableBase, please click on the LOGOUT button at the very top of the TableBase home page before closing your browser. If you exit TableBase by closing the browser without logging out, you will be unable to reenter the site until it has timed out your session.

Mintel [ About ]
Use "quick search" window on upper right hand corner to find market research report for your industry or product. Once inside the report, click on "supply structure" to find market share information.
For academic use only.
Tip: You'll need to create an account to use Mintel for academic use only, and accept a user agreement. Must use BU e-mail address to sign in. You can download batches of reports, sections and individual graphs.

Consumer USA
Pardee Reference - Marketing
X HC 101 C744 2005 (Table 1)
Section three of this book includes Brand shares and Manufacturer shares for a variety of products.

Market Share Reporter
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X HF 5415.2 M37 (Table 1)
An annual compilation of reported market share data on companies, products, and services. Organized by SIC code.

Company Rankings

Company Dossier through LexisNexis Academic [About]
Create list of international or U.S. companies by industry, geographic area, and revenue.  Rank U.S. companies by sales.

Business Rankings Annual
Pardee Reference - Industry Information
X  HG 4050 B88
Ranks top companies by industry type and geography. U.S. and International.

Business Week
Ranks companies in the following categories:
Best Global Brands
Best Places to Launch a Career
BW 50: Best Performing Companies
Top 100 IT Companies
Most Innovative Companies

Forbes.com
Ranks companies in the following categories:
Forbes Global 2000 
200 Best Small Companies
400 Best Big Companies
America's Largest Private Companies
Asia's Best Under a Billion
Asia's Fab 50 Companies
Global High Performers

Fortune
Ranks companies in the following categories:
Global 500
Fortune 500
World's Most Admired Companies
100 Best Companies to Work For
100 Top MBA Employers
26 Blue Ribbon Companies
100 Fatest Growing Companies
35 Largest U.S. Private Companies

The Inc. 500/5,000
The fastest growing private companies in America, searchable by gross dollars of growth, revenue, metro region, and industry.
Print version available in mid-October Inc. Magazine.

Mergent's Industry Review
Pardee Reference Desk
X HG 4905 M88
Comparative US company statistics for 137 industry groups. All companies are ranked by financial and operating data.

TableBase [About]
Statistical data on companies, products, industries, markets, demographics and countries. Tabular data is drawn from statistical annuals, trade association reports, government agencies, international organizations, newsletters and journals. Please note: When you are through using TableBase, please click on the LOGOUT button at the very top of the TableBase home page before closing your browser. If you exit TableBase by closing the browser without logging out, you will be unable to reenter the site until it has timed out your session.

IPO's

IPO Central
http://www.hoovers.com/global/ipoc/index.xhtml
Information on recent IPO activity. Users can use IPO Search to create a custom IPO list.

IPO Data Systems
http://www.ipodata.com/
Company profiles searchable by ticker, company name, business description, or manager name. This site is organized in the categories new filings, new offerings, upcoming IPO's, and reports. The reports section includes information on withdrawn IPO's, IPO's by state, IPO industry breakdown, and more. The "week in review" section is particularly helpful for keeping up to date with IPO information.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers & Acquisitions
Pardee Reference - Current Periodicals
X HG4028 .M4 M45
Monthly journal with articles on mergers and acquisitions, includes roster of all reported transactions valued at $25 million or more. Information, organized by industry, includes acquirer, target, date completed, and advisers. February issue offers statistical highlights of previous year, plus "deals of the year" award winners.

Bloomberg [About] (Pardee Library access only)
Comprehensive coverage on global merger and acquisition activity; includes the day's top deals, financial and legal advisor rankings, statistics, and the latest news. To access Mergers and Acquisitions information on Bloomberg type "MA" on the top of the screen, and hit the green "GO" button on the keyboard. For quick company search, click on "Mergers and Acquisitions Search".