Library Guides: IET 317: Appiah-Kubi: Company Research & Competitors

Company Research

When building a business plan it is often necessary to research suppliers, retailers, and key companies within an industry. The resources here provide:

Company profiles and reports, which provide information for benchmarking and analysis
Trade publications, industry reports, and SWOT analyses

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Company data for U.S. and international public and private companies. Includes industry reports for North America, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Latin America by country and region; U.S. executive profiles; equity research reports; and more.

Search for a major company in your industry by name or ticker symbol, and click on the Supply Chain tab to see details about the company's suppliers and customers.

NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
Updated daily. Provides a comprehensive, professional source of investment information and analysis on industries and companies. Full text coverage includes stock, bond, and mutual fund guides and reports; earnings and dividends reports; comprehensive company information; industry surveys for 52 major U.S. industries; and directories of companies, executives and security dealers

Search for a major company in your industry by name or ticker symbol to view its profile. Click on Industry Surveys in the left side menu to locate detailed industry analysis, including key trends and external factors impacting the industry and supply chain.

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from thousands of scholarly business journals, magazines, and trade journals from the fields of marketing, management, accounting, finance, and economics.

Search by keyword or company name and limit results to SWOT Analyses, Market Reports, and/or Trade Journals to find expert analysis.

Identifying Competitors & Major Players

IBISWorld This link opens in a new window
Provides in-depth analysis of over 700 U.S. industries at the national and state level. Global industry reports are particularly strong in the manufacturing sector.

Find the IBISWorld Industry Report for your industry, and click on Companies to see the major players in your industry

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Company data for U.S. and international public and private companies. Includes industry reports for North America, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Latin America by country and region; U.S. executive profiles; equity research reports; and more.

Search for a major company in your industry by name or ticker symbol. On its profile, click on Competitors to see a large list of competing companies.

Reference Solutions This link opens in a new window
Directory information for over 80 million businesses in the U.S. and Canada, customizable by type of business, geographic location, size of business, and sales. Data also available on more than 270 million consumers.

Click on U.S. Businesses and select Advanced Search, then search by NAICS code and limit to a geographic area to see competitors of all sizes within an industry and region.