Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
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How to Research a Company
Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to provide a basic framework for finding information about a company. In many cases this
information is not readily available, or may be expensive to access. Using GSC and free web resources will provide basic
information, but realize that you may need to travel to another academic library in an institution that has a business school.
The Company Research Process: Following is an overview of the steps needed in researching a company
1. Develop an overview of the company
a. Sources to use:
b. What the overview should contain:
2. Identify whether the company is publicly or privately held
a. Sources to use:
b.
3. Look for company history
4. Read financial disclosure reports
5. Consider industry ratios, if relevant
6. Establish corporate rankings, when relevant
7. Use the GSC Discovery Service to find current articles about the company
8. Browse the GSC Discovery Service to find relevant peer-reviewed articles
9. Search selected web resources
10. Contact the GSC Librarian for help in identifying useful resources in other academic libraries
11. To Find Basic Company Background
12. Basic search strategies are needed for locating company background such as corporate structure, history, mission and
objectives, services and products, and financial background.
1. Is it publically held? Traded on the Stock Exchange? Or, privately held: To find the answer to these questions use
Hoovers’ Online
The strategies will focus on researching public companies. Finding information on smaller private companies can be more
difficult. Wherever possible, suggestions for finding information about private businesses will be included.
The majority of businesses in the U.S. are privately owned and are not legally required to disclose information to
the public. Since only publicly held corporations must disclose information to the public, only a very small
percentage of American businesses can be readily researched.
Finding information about companies is basic to business research. Good background research allows informed decisionmaking for assessing competitors, analyzing companies for investment, and evaluating potential employers.
Consider the following outline for beginning company research:
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013
Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
603 728-8140
How to Research a Company
Identify the company or companies
•
Publicly-held, traded on a stock exchange?
• Subsidiary of a parent company?
• Privately-held?
Mission and objectives of the company
•
•
•
Business involvement?
Products and services?
Goals and objectives?
Internal operations of the company
•
Company structure and management profiles?
• Available resources?
• Marketing and advertising?
External environment of the company
Identify the competition
•
•
•
determine the
industry
identify competitors
determine rankings
and market share
Competitive factors operating
within the company
Competitor profiles
•
•
•
buyers of the products
or services
suppliers of raw
materials and services
•
•
strengths of the
competition
weaknesses of the
competition
industry
opportunities or
threats
Environmental conditions
•
•
•
•
economic conditions
governmental
regulation
technological
development
societal issues
Finding Background Information
The following steps will help organize the research process:
•
•
•
•
•
develop an overview - use business directories
identify whether the company is public or private
look for company history
read financial disclosure reports
consider industry ratios, if relevant
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013
Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
603 728-8140
•
•
•
•
How to Research a Company
establish corporate rankings, when relevant
browse periodical indexes to find articles
use newspaper indexes to find current articles
search Internet sources
To find information about company history, search the following online databases:
Business Insights: Essentials (formerly Business & Company Resource Center)
The Business & Company Resource Center is a fully integrated resource bringing together company profiles, brand information,
rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies and periodicals. Search this database to find detailed company
and industry news and information.
Business Source Complete via EBSCOhost
This is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full text
content. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most
important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition to the searchable cited references
provided for more than 1,200 journals.
Hoover's Online
Hoover's, Inc., delivers comprehensive company, industry, and market intelligence that drives business growth. Our
database of 12 million companies, with in-depth coverage of 40,000 of the world's top business enterprises, is at the
core of our business tools and services that customers find vital to their business operations.
Mergent Online
Mergent Online's enhanced features and functions include the ability to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Research 15 years of detailed financial statements
Customize viewing and output to retrieve precisely the information you need
Export company reports and financials into software applications such as Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel or
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®
Execute accurate cross-border searches using a variety of financial and text variables
Compare multiple companies' reports
Access site via user ID or IP authentication
View more than 115,000 images of company annual reports" -- Mergent website
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013
Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
603 728-8140
How to Research a Company
Public Companies
Corporate financial reports (often called disclosure statements or filings) must be submitted to the Securities & Exchange
Commission (SEC) by all publicly-traded companies. These disclosure statements provide the investing public with essential
information about corporate activities.
This information is important for tracking company performance. The data are most useful when compared over a period of
time. The reports are one of the first places to start company research.
There are several options for retrieving corporate financial filings.
•
You may request the documents directly from the company. Telephone the company's headquarters and ask for the
shareholders' relations office.
•
You may find many of the filings on Mergent Online in the McFarlin Databases.
•
SEC filings may be available in the EDGAR database on the Securities & Exchange CommissionWeb site, if the
company has filed electronically.
•
Financial filings may also be available on a corporate Web site.
Financial Ratios
Financial ratios provide a method for comparing one company to another or to an industry average. They are a valuable tool
for analyzing financial statements. Ratios are used to provide meaningful relationships between values. They are used to
compare average ratios for a particular industry or by comparing them over a period of time.
Sources for locating financial ratios include:
Mergent Online
Mergent Online's enhanced features and functions include the ability to:
•
•
•
•
•
Research 15 years of detailed financial statements
Customize viewing and output to retrieve precisely the information you need
Export company reports and financials into software applications such as Microsoft® Word, Microsoft®
Excel or Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®
Execute accurate cross-border searches using a variety of financial and text variables
Compare multiple companies' reports
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013
Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
603 728-8140
•
•
How to Research a Company
Access site via user ID or IP authentication
View more than 115,000 images of company annual reports" -- Mergent website
McF Reference;
HF5681.R25A45
Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial
Ratios
McFarlin Books; HD2346.U5
F55
Financial Studies of the Small Business
McFarlin Books; HF5681.R25
I53
Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
Rankings
Rankings are useful when comparing companies. They can provide a broad measure of performance within an
industry. Most company rankings are based on financial factors. Sometimes, companies may be ranked by other measures,
for example, number of employees.
Sources for locating company rankings include:
McFarlin Books; HG4057
A237
Dun's Business Rankings
Follow link - Online Source
Hoover's Online
McFarlin Books; HG4057
.A2863
Hoover's handbook of world business
Market Share
Market share is considered an important indication of competitive strength. It is expressed as the percentage of total sales of a
given market held by each competitor.
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013
Library & Research Commons
library.granite.edu
603 728-8140
How to Research a Company
McFarlin Books; HF5410 M35
Market Share Reporter
McFarlin Books; HF5410
.W67
World Market Share Reporter
McFarlin Books; HF3001 .U86
U.S. Market Trends & Forecasts
Private Companies
To find limited information about private companies, search the following references:
McF Reference; HG4057.A3 Ward's business directory of U.S. private and public
W37
companies
McFarlin Books; HG4057
.A286
Hoover's handbook of private companies
** Frequently, information on privately held companies can be obtained by contacting the company directly.
o
information
GSC Library- How to Research a Company
October 2013