Welcome Cornerstone Students!
• Sit with your team please!
• Log in using info on sticker to
right of each PC monitor
BUSX 301:
Company
& Industry
Research
Ms. Shana Gass, MSLS, MS
sgass@towson.edu
Reference Librarian, Cook Library
September 2010
Your assignment
• What do you need to know?
• Which sources would you
consult to find out?
Company Web Site
• Good first step
– Look at the Investors / Investor Relations
Section.
– Due Dilligence:
Consult Annual Report and/or 10-K.
• Additional sources
– Sources that come from outside the company
– news & analysis
– Sources about competitors & the industry as a
whole
Cook Library
Business Subject Gateway
Company & Industry Info - Exercise
• Teams divide & conquer
• All sources – link from Business
Subject Gateway
• Ask questions!
• Be ready to report on your source
• 15 min.
Company Dossier,
in the LexisNexis Academic
• Blend of sources (like Yahoo Finance)
• Snapshot – background info
• Financials & ratios
• News
• Competitors
• Stock info, investment analysis
• Law cases & patents
• Custom reports!
Value Line
• Industry & Company Information
• Investment perspective
• Financials & Stock performance
• Analysis
• Ranking of companies & industries
 Timeliness =
how well VL thinks stock will perform in next 6-12 mos.
1 is the best
 Safety = VL’s measure of volatility
1 is the least volatile
• Use the Investor Tools tab to learn about it!
Value Line – First Screen
Value Line – Lookup Company
Value Line –
Searching for a Company
A Company Stock Report
The Value Line
Investor Tools Section
What does it
all mean???
Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage –
Industry Surveys
• Environment
• Trends
• How the industry operates
• How to analyze the industry
(using ratios, etc.)
• Financials for leading companies
• Sources of Industry info
 Industry publications
 Trade associations
 Government agencies which regulate industry
Datamonitor Company SWOT Analyses
• In Business Source Complete
• Steps:
Do a simple search for
company name
• Under narrow by source…click on
…SWOT Analyses
• CAUTION: Datamonitor reports
embargoed for academic market – may be
a bit old
More Research Tips!
• http://pages.towson.edu/sgass/courses
• > BUSX
Questions?
…feel free to contact me!
Shana Gass
(410) 704-2395
sgass@towson.edu *preferred
Or any reference librarian:
Cook Library Web Site > Ask a Librarian for options