Company Information

Business Descriptions/Company Overviews:

Public Companies have an obligation to report a basic level of information to their shareholders and are also required to file annually with the SEC. Therefore, finding information on these companies is relatively easy.

Private Companies are owned privately, and have no obligation to report any information to the public. Finding information on private companies can be more challenging.

Mergent Online
Search by company name, ticker symbol, CUSIP, or Duns number. Find extensive business descriptions, corporate histories, and financial statements. Tip: Also a great source for current news as it pertains to a particular company and industry profiles relevant to that company.

Hoover’s
Search by company name to access a company overview which includes financial information, a list of competitors, key executives, and products/operations. Tip: Some information can be found on some private companies here.

Marketline
Search by company name to find company profiles, industry profiles, country profiles, financial deals, and news. Company overviews include revenue and SWOT analysis, as well as competitor and subsidiary information.

OneSource
Search by company name, ticker symbol or registered number. Excellent coverage of company information for both US and non-US companies, including analyst reports and strengths/weaknesses analysis. Tip: Limited information can be found about some private companies.

Reference USA
Search by company name to identify company directory information or use the “Custom Search” option to search by industry classification or geographic region and generate lists of relevant companies. Tip: Excellent resource when you begin to do your own job search.

Company News:

Search the following databases by company or brand name to find articles from various business publications about company performance, strategy, innovations, deals, etc.

EBSCO Host Business Source Complete
Change the “Select a field” menu to “CO Company Entity.” “AND” this with another key term (ie. product name, business term) to refine your search.

Factiva
Use the free text search field or find your company using the “Company” search tab at the bottom left of the page to access articles and newswires. To find company overviews, select “Companies/Markets” at the top of the screen. Next select “Company” and type in the name of the company.

ProQuest ABI/Inform Global
For focused results use the Advanced Search mode to search by company name, brand/product name, or NAICS code. Change “Citation and document text” to the appropriate search descriptor.

Company Financials:

Thompson One Banker
Search by ticker symbol to find extensive company financials, statistics, and forecasts.

Mergent Horizon
Search by company name or ticker symbol to find basic financial information and valuation analysis alongside listings of related products/services, customers, suppliers, partners, and competitors.

SWOT Analysis:

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis offers insight into a company’s condition as it objectively assesses its strengths and weaknesses and its potential to deal with external opportunities and threats. It is therefore a useful tool in developing and confirming company goals and marketing strategies. Use the following resources to access or assess a company’s SWOT analysis.

Marketline
Company overviews often include SWOT analysis.

EBSCOhost Business Source Complete
You can often find SWOT analysis listed as a “Source” on the left side of your search results page.

Onesource
Listed as “Strengths/Weaknesses” on the left side of the company overview page.

Mplans.com
Read the article “How to perform a SWOT analysis” for a guide to writing your own SWOT analysis.