Company Overviews & Current Financials - USC Databases
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
These databases are good places to start your company research:
- Nexis Uni (formerly LEXIS/NEXIS Academic) This link opens in a new windowDatabase of full text online news, legal cases, and company information from 1980 to present. Includes Nexis Dossier and Total Patent One.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowDetailed financial information on US and international PUBLIC, but not private, companies. Includes data on Inactive companies (bankrupt, out of business).
- OSIRIS This link opens in a new windowDetailed information on public companies worldwide including ratings from Moody's, Fitch and WVB, financial ratios and more.
- Passport This link opens in a new windowThe Passport/GMID (Global Market Information Database) by Euromonitor provides a wide range of consumer market and industry information in more than 80 countries around the world. It includes company profiles, some with SWOT analysis, country briefings, sector briefings, sector data, industry watch articles and detailed Consumer Lifestyle reports.
- Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) This link opens in a new windowProvides in-depth information on public and private US businesses. Especially useful for finding lists of smaller or regional companies.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowArticles from leading business journals, magazines, trade publications and newspapers with a broad selection of international content plus company and market data. Only three concurrent users allowed.
Company Overviews - Public Web Sites
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
- Yahoo Company Index"Yahoo! Finance brings you company profiles from Capital IQ, who provides users with information on over 9,000 public companies, including contact information, business summaries, officer and employee information, sector and industry classifications, business and earnings announcement summaries, and financial statistics and ratios. Yahoo adds stock charts based on historical data from Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI), and links to other resources."
- Manta"Manta is the world's largest online community for promoting and connecting small business. With more than one million registered users and nearly 64 million company profiles, business owners and professionals use Manta to promote and differentiate their offerings and "be found" online by customers and prospects."
Finding Competitors
Each of these databases provide information on a company's competitors:
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowProvides data about companies, including financials, exeutives, reports, filings, news, and comparisons with competitors. Build your own report to find exactly the data you need.
Overview of Company Information
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
It is easier to find information about public companies (those that sell stock to shareholders) than about private companies (those that are private owned by an individual or a group). Public companies in the United States are required by law to file documents with the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC). These include the 10k (annual 0 and 10Q (quarterly) reports. In addition, public companies issue an annual report to shareholders.
When looking for information about a company, consider both information from the company itself (e.g., the company website, SEC filings, press releases, etc.) as well as information about the company written by others (e.g., newspaper articles, analyst reports, articles by professors, etc.).
Finding information about a company includes the following steps:
- Get an overview of the company, find out if it is public or private
- Find the company website and review it carefully, particularly the sections for investors or media/press.
- If the company is public, find relevant 10k and 10Q reports and annual reports to shareholders
- Search for news, magazine and other periodical articles for information. This may be the only way to find information on private companies
- If the company is public, search for analyst and brokerage reports. These sometimes contain an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
- Identify competitors.
Company Web Sites
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
Company web sites can provide a wealth of information, particularly for public companies. Look for press releases, investor information including presentations and events and filings such as SEC filings, annual reports or corporate social responsibility or "community" reports. Use information from the company carefully and watch for bias or an overly-optimistic interpretation of factual data.
Historical Company Information
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowProvides financials going back 15 years for active and inactive US and international companies.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to the multi-volume International Directory of Company Histories. Click on the link for Business or search by company name.
- SEC Filings & Forms(Public Web Site) Search for official company filings including 10-K's, 10-Q's and many more using the Edgar system back to 1994.
Stocks and Bonds
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
- Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) This link opens in a new windowThe CRSP dataset within WRDS provides comprehensive, downloadable stock data with deep historical files.
- Daily Stock Price Record: NASDAQThis book is available in the Reference section of the Crocker Business Library.
- Daily Stock Price Record: American Stock ExchangeThis book is available in the Reference section of the Crocker Business Library
- Daily Stock Price Record: New York Stock ExchangeThis book is available in the Reference section of the Crocker Business Library.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowProvides two years of daily stock price data and five years of monthly prices.
Analyst Reports and SWOT Analysis
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
Look here for expert opinions on companies:
- Passport This link opens in a new windowThe Passport/GMID (Global Market Information Database) by Euromonitor provides a wide range of consumer market and industry information in more than 80 countries around the world. It includes company profiles, some with SWOT analysis, country briefings, sector briefings, sector data, industry watch articles and detailed Consumer Lifestyle reports.
- ABI/INFORM CompleteArticles from leading business journals, magazines, trade publications and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal. Available through ProQuest Articles from leading business journals, magazines, trade publications and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal. Available through ProQuest
Annual Reports - Public Web Sites
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
Try these sites if you cannot locate the annual report you need at the company web site or using USC databases. You may need to purchase the report from these sources.
Financial Ratios
Text from John Juricek's Business LibGuide
These resources provide a range of financial ratios for companies and industries:
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowLook under "Company Financials" for a link to "Ratios"
- EStatement Studies This link opens in a new windowThe online version of the RMA Annual Statement Studies, this database provides industry ratios.
- CCH Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial RatiosThis book is available at the Crocker Business Library front desk.
- D&B Industry Norms and Key Business RationsThis book is available at the Crocker Business Library front desk.
- RMA Annual Statement StudiesThis book is available at the Crocker Business Library front desk. Also available in the EStatement Studies database.