Company Information
Directories | Financial Information | Databases | Internet Sources
Public or Private?
Before you research a company, you need to find out if it is publicly traded, private, a subsidiary or a division of a larger company. This can be found in many of the directories available in the reference section of the library or in an online directory such as Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directory (MDDI). MDDI is an excellent place to start as it covers both public and private American companies making more than $9 million or more than 180 employees. Corporate Affiliations is a available in the Library's Reference section and lists a company's subsidiaries.
Publicly-traded Companies
Financial information is important when researching a company. Any company with stock traded on an American exchange is required by the Security and Exchange Commission to file several reports a year. Reports filed with the SEC are available through EDGAR. Several library resources, including D&B's Million Dollar Directory, and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe have current financial information available. The Lexis-Nexis has investment reports from several brokerage firms. Investment reports are normally very expensive and offer a third-party view of a comanpy. ValueLine has in-depth and up-to-date financial information geared towards the investor and is an excellent source for company research. Mergent Online offers historical and current financials as well as company histories, statistics, and customized reports. Standard & Poor's Net Advantage offers detailed investment information as well as analysis for public companies.
Privately-traded Companies
Private companies are not required to file financial information and do not have to make this information available to the public. Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies will give some insight into private companies. Sometimes the best way to find information on a private company is by searching for articles. Try any of the business-related databases. Also check the Directory of Corporate Affiliations, D&B Million Dollar Directory, Lexis-Nexis, and Business Source Complete for more company information, including sales figures, SEC filings, contact information and subsidiaries.
Company Histories and Narratives
Descriptive overviews of companies--both public and private--are available in the Hoover Handbooks and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. Business Source Complete also has company reports from Datamonitor on both American and International private and public companies. ABI/Inform Complete has current news on more than 60,000 companies. International company information is available in several sources, including the Directory of Corporate Affiliations and Hoover's Handbook of World Business.
If you need to see how a company fits within its industry, see the Industry Research Guide for more information.
Directories
AnyWho Toll-Free Directory
US toll-free telephone numbers for companies
Business Week: Company Insight Center
Free site that covers basic company information. Includes sections on Sectors & Industry, Industry News, Learning Center, and People Overview. Includes links to other Business Week sections, including: Investing, Technology, Autos, Innovation, etc.
Directory of Corporate Affiliations
[Reference] HG4057 .A219 Catalog Record
Separated into three areas, this eight-volume directory of US companies and their subsidiaries includes contact information, web address, Standard Industrial Classification, financial information, business description and executives.
Volumes 1 and 2: Index
Volumes 3 and 4: US Public and Private Companies
Volumes 5 and 6: US Private Companies
Volumes 7 and 8: International Public and Private Companies
Dun & Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Directory (MDDI)
[Reference] HC102 .D8 Catalog Record
Available in print and online, MDDI offers basic company information on American public and private companies with sales higher than $9 million or more than 180 employees. Only 2-5 users can access MDDI at one time; please off when you are finished.
Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries
[Reference] HG4538 .A1 D5 Catalog Record
Covers more than 3,600 U.S. firms with nearly 36,500 branches, subsidiaries and affiliates in 187 countries. Volume one lists American companies with operations in foreign countries. Volume two contains listings by country from Albania to Zimbabwe of the American firms' foreign operations
Hoover's Handbook of American Business
[Reference]HG4057 .A28617.H669 Catalog Record
In two volumes, this set offers in-depth coverage of more than 750 of the most influential public US companies.
Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies
[Reference] HG4057 .A28618 Catalog Record
Covers 600 small, rapidly growing companies in the U.S., and features in-depth profiles for 200 of the companies.
Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies
[Reference] HG4057 .A28619 Catalog Record
An excellent source to find information on private companies. Hoovers covers 900 private U.S. companies including large industrial and service corporations; hospitals and health care organizations; charitable and membership organizations; mutual and cooperative organizations; joint ventures; government-owned corporations; and major university systems.
Hoover's Handbook of World Business
[Reference] HG4009 .H66 Catalog Record
Profiles 300 prominent international companies. Includes a company overview, history, executives, locations, products, competitors, and historical financials.
Hoover's Online
Hoover's Online offers basic information on many companies, both public and private. Some infomration is free but more in-depth data is available by subscription only.
International Directory of Company Histories
[Reference] HD2721 .T63 1988 Catalog Record
This multi-volume set devotes several pages to each company. Includes key dates and further reading section for suggested reading. The set was published in 1988 and may not be suitable for current information but is great for historical data.
Mergent Online
Mergent Online offers company details, including history, key dates, joint ventures, property, and subsidiaries for more than 35,000 US and non-US companies. Also offers current and historical (back 15 years) financial data including income statements, balance sheets, retained values, financial ratios, analysis, and stock prices. Mergent also offers annual reports for US and International companies going back to 1995. Access to Mergent is limited to five users. If you cannot access the database try at a later time. Always log off Mergent Online when you are finished.
Principal International Businesses
[Reference] HF54 .U5 Catalog Record
Directory of major companies throughout the world.
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
US private and public
Thomas Register of European Manufacturers
European private and public
Ward’s Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
[Reference] HG4009 .W38 b1043125 Catalog Record
Lists 135,000 U.S. companies. Provides rankings of companies by sales within 4-digit Standard Industrial Classification and 6-digit North American Industry Classification.
Financial Information
Annual Reports
Many companies publish their annual reports on their Web sites, although they may only post the most recent year's filings. Annual reports going back to 1995 are available in Mergent Online. Annual reports dating back to 1972 can be found in Lexis Nexis Academic. While in Lexis Nexis, click on the Business tab at the top, then choose "Company Profiles" listed on the right side of the screen. Under Select Sources, scroll down to Annual Reports. Choose the years you are interested, and enter your search.
The library does hold some Annual Reports on file. Historical reports of some companies are kept in the library and can be found by searching the Catalog under the company name. Newer reports are not in the catalog and are kept separate from the library collection. See a librarian at the Reference Desk for a list of annual reports currently in the library.
Financial Ratios Calculator
Financial ratios calculator from the University of Washington's Foster Business Library. Plug in various financials and the calculator will figure the ratios. Included is sample data for Nike. Company financials can be found from numerous sources including Net Advantage, Mergent Online, Lexis Nexis Academic, and Value Line Online.
Lippincott Library Corporate Report Site
Done by the Lippincott Library and the University of Pennsylvania. This site contains annual reports dating from 1800 to 1955 of selected U.S. companies. All reports are in PDF format.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Under "Business" you can find financial reports, including historical finacials back to 1972. Includes expanded Hoover's reports as well as current 10ks and other financial information.
SEC Filings and EDGAR
EDGAR is the Search the Security and Exchange Commission's database of public company filings (10K, proxy, etc.). All filings are open to the public.
ValueLine Research Center Online
[Reference] HG4501 .V26 Catalog Record
Stock prices and investment information. Provides one-page snapshot of investment information of 1,700 companies. Includes recent developments, statistics, and industry forecasts. Updated quarterly. Historical ValueLine issues are available in microfiche. For help using Value Line Research Center, go to the Value Line University. For help reading the Investment Survey, see the Investment Survey Help Page (PDF). Sample/help pages are also available for Mutual Fund Survey and the Small and Mid-Cap Survey (PDF)
Databases
ABI/Inform Complete
Contains full-text and abstract articles on numerous business topics. Current news and articles on 60,000 companies. Includes full-text articles from Wall Street Journal, 1985-present. Complete coverage: 1971-present.
Business Source Complete (EbscoHost)
Datamonitor Company profiles and strategy reports are available under "Company Profiles." BSC offers thousands of business journals, some dating back to 1965 or earlier.
Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Search for company information under "Business." Hoover reports, financial information, including 10ks, are available through Lexis-Nexis.
Internet Sources
Europages (European private and public)
Franchise Handbook: Online (US franchisors)
InfoSpace (US private and public yellow pages)
Superpages (US private and public yellow pages)
Yahoo! Business and Economy Directory Company web sites organized under Business to Business services and Shopping and Retail
