Getting Started with Company Research
Public company websites usually have sections for investors, where annual reports and other SEC filings can be found. While company websites are great sources of information, but remember, they are presenting the company in the best possible light. The resources on this page provide reliable and authoritative information about public companies, including company profiles, SWOT analyses, directory information, and other details about business activities and financials.
Prepare for Your Search
What is the complete, official name of the company? Keep in mind that a company's common name (for example, McDonald's) may not be its official name (McDonald's Corporation). When possible, use the company's complete official name as your search term.
Is the company a subsidiary? A company is a subsidiary when it is partially or wholly owned by another company. A common example is Google and YouTube, which are subsidiaries of Alphabet, Inc. In some cases, company information for a subsidiary will be published or indexed under its parent company.
Find ticker symbols. Ticker symbols are letter codes that stand for specific publicly traded companies on stock exchanges and indices. You can often use a company's ticker symbol to search databases. Find ticker symbols:
- Online with Symbol Lookup on Yahoo Finance
- On stock exchange & index websites
- On company profiles in the Mergent Online database
Recommended Databases
- 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. Plus company and industry profiles, SWOT analyses, country economic reports, financial data, and investment reports. - 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. - 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
