Best of the Web—Business Resources:Company ResearchAnnette Weiss, Selector Librarian |
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How To Research Companies |
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The Virtual Chase site, while subtitled Legal Research on the Internet is actually for anyone interested in doing corporate research using the web. There are articles on specific research issues and topics, annotated guides (including researching companies and securities, as well as legal information). An eight-step research process is offered, with appropriate links. The main site also offers course materials from two summer 1998 workshops: Internet Skills and Strategies for the Legal Researcher and Government Resources on the Internet. Finally, check out the article linked in the sidebar menu, IQ (Information Quality): A Checklist for Determining the Value of Information Retrieved from Internet, with hyperlinked examples, should be required reading for anyone reading this description. |
LibrarySpot is renowned for the excellence of its resources, and this brief tutorial with links is no exception. Deb Flanagan's superb tutorial pages teach how to find different kinds of free company information on the Internet. The tutorial can either be followed in full for a comprehensive overview of business information research, or users can skip to specific chapters such as Locate High-Level Company Information, Locate Company Home Pages, Research Company Financial Information and many more useful topics. |
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The Science, Industry and Business Library division of the New York Public Library Research Libraries offers this compact, yet superb, overview of the corporate research process. |
This Web site is a guide to researching information. It provides a discussion of search strategies and covers many topics such as finding patents, company information, software, and statistics. It also covers many information sources including discussion groups, governmental sources, commercial databases, and magazines. Links are provided for Internet resources and specialized search engines. There are some non-Internet resources as well. |
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Many corporate information directory sites provide the ability to search by either the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes or the newer NAIC system. This site, provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, translates SIC codes into the new NAICS codes and vice versa. The new NAICS system will replace Canada, Mexico and the United States' separate classification systems with one uniform system for classifying industries. In the United States, NAICS will replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. The U.S. will start implementing NAICS this year, with the Census Bureau's 1997 Economic Census |
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Corporate Directories |
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(See also: Finding Businesses on our Lookup Directories page; our Business Subscription Databases Page also contains a rich array of resources. Users who access these resources from outside the Library may be asked for their library card barcode number.) |
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American City Business Journals Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers, serving 40 of the country's most vibrant markets. Scroll down to search or click on advanced search. Useful for information on private companies. If you can ignore the extensive advertising, you'll find links to the home pages and annual reports of more than 2,200 companies traded on the U.S. stock exchanges, including most of the Fortune 500. Each company listing also includes links to NYSE, AMEX, or NASDAQ information and most have a Snap Shot from Zacks Investment Services (broker recommendations, brief summary of business activities, industry rank, earnings estimates, market commentary, balance sheet, etc.). The International Gallery has links to annual report services from other countries. Search free, full-text, Abobe Acrobat format reports by ticker or alpha by company name. Covers ’99-current year (most companies). |
This free service lets you order annual reports on more than 3,600 public companies. Although you can also request documents through an 800 number, the Web site is more convenient, because you can request reports for multiple companies. You can browse company names alphabetically or by industry. The service is only available for U.S. addresses and you need an e-mail address. Arranged by company, provides authoritative info: overviews, financials, news. Details basic principles of SWOT analysis
Enter the company's name in the search box and it provide stock reports, stock graphs, company information and more. It also provides comparison data for competitors. Good for analyzing how the company is faring financially. Has nice list of other profiles available on the web. This Lycos site provides a Business Yellow Pages search capabiulity on more than 900,000 public and private companies who do business on the web. Lycos offers map-based searchng and searching near a specified address in addition to the more usual name, broad business category and phone number parameters. |
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About EDGARThe following links are related to the EDGAR database. EDGAR is the database of public company filings maintained by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC requires all public companies (except foreign companies and companies with less than $10 million in assets and 500 shareholders) to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this information for free. Be very careful, though: a number of commercial sites use the EDGAR name, but their domain name ends in .com, and they charge fees or subscriptions to access the same data, albeit sometimes with value-added formats. |
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SEC Corporate Filings by Public Companies. |
An annotated listing of all corporate filings required by the SEC; very useful for making sense of the plethora of forms appearing in the EDGAR database. |
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Since 1980 Forbes has been ranking the 200 best small publicly-held companies, and now has put the data for the most recent five years on the web.
"To create the Forbes Platinum 400--the Best Big Companies in America--we ran computer screens across 26 industries for companies with at least $1 billion in revenue and high rankings for corporate practices as well as long- and short-term sales and earnings growth and stock market performance. After additional scrutiny, our writers and editors selected the best managed company in each industry." Quick and easy access to all of Fortune Magazine's highly regarded business lists. Includes the Fortune 500 (ranks companies by revenue), America's Most Admired Companies, the 100 Best Companies to Work For, the Fortune e-50 (for Internet companies), America's Fastest Growing Companies, the Global 500, and America's Best Companies for Minorities. |
> Search For Specific Companies, view Industry Directories, locate key decision-makers, et al. More in-depth reports are available for a fee. This site provides contact information and links to Official Home Page, Secretary of State, and Corporation Database (when available) for U.S. States. It also provides contact information and links to available Official State Charities Databases and Charity Regulators as well as a link to the IRS database of nonprofits. The Reference Desk provides links to other sections of the site providing a variety of research resources including archives of newsletters, corporations, foundations, grants, online news, people, and tools. From the Internet Prospector, a research site for nonprofit fundraisers. |
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Each year in mid-October, Inc. magazine releases its Inc. 500 issue, which lists the fastest-growing privately held U.S. companies. Searchable by name, keyword, state, sector or industry. A new Interactive Demographics search feature enables you to break out companies by several variables at once.
This site tracks the largest American and international companies on the Web as ranked by revenue. |
Over 155,000 companies and their products. Detailed analyses of over 18,000 companies. Company analysis, stock price data and earnings information with ten years' worth of data, and links to Yahoo! and Raging Bull message board traffic regarding each company. Even company patents are searchable from this site. |
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Current Company News |
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A premier site for financial news and information. Use the archives to search for stories back to 1995. A searchable database of news releases, updated hour by hour. CNN's online business center. Provides links to breaking stories and current market coverage. |
The online version of Crain's Detroit Business Weekly, chock-full of news and stories about Detroit Area businesses. A source of news releases for companies worldwide. Provides immediate news as well as an archive of company announcements. |
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Resources From Our Print CollectionThe following sources are excellent for company research in that they provide a range of current and authoritative information. The sources cover both public and private companies. Since each directory is compiled by a different publisher, examination of more than one source often provides additional pieces of information. Company Research Resources |
(Oryx Press) Although several years old, this book still offers a valid methodology and list of basic print resources for business research. Located in the Business Collection (Reference) at 650.072 L |
(Gale Research) A comprehensive annual directory of print sources classified by topic. Located in the Business Collection (Reference) at 650.016 E |
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Directories |
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(R.R. Bowker) Lists producers and distributors, equipment, services and organizations, conventions, film festivals and publications in the field. Located in the Reference Collection 371.33 A
(OneSource Information Services, Inc.) Comprehensive reference for companies that manufacture or develop high technology products. Includes operating units of larger corporations and independent private companies. Located in the Business Collection (Reference) at 338.7 C
(Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.) Directory information on 36,000 healthcare suppliers and providers. Useful for determining staff size, population served, special services and contact person. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library).
(National Register Publishing Co.) A major starting-point for research. This five-volume set lists major private and public businesses in the United States and throughout the world. Use this resource to identify company brands and obtain complete listings of subsidiaries, manufacturing plants, et al.. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library).
(National Register Publishing Co.) A major starting-point for research. This five-volume set lists major private and public businesses in the United States and throughout the world. Use this resource to identify company brands and obtain complete listings of subsidiaries, manufacturing plants, et al.. An especially useful feature is the annual list of Mergers, Acquisitions, and name Changes which appears at the front of Volume 1, and is supplemented by a 10-year historical guide to changes in the status of parent companies. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library).
(Gale Research) Lists national organizations alphabetically by various fields of endeavor (e.g., scientific, engineering, etc). An alphabetical index is arranged by keyword, so the user need not know the exact name of the organization. Use this to identify trade and professional organizations for networking, background information, conferences, and publications, This resource is also available online as Associations Unlimited. Located at the Information Desk
(Hoover's Inc.) This two-volume set profiles the 750 largest and most influential companies in America. Provides a snapshot of each company with an overview, history, officers, locations, products, competitors, and historical financials. Supplemental information includes several rankings lists. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library).
(Hoover's Inc.) Profiles of U.S. public companies that have demonstrated growth in sales and/or market value. Provides a quick, easy-to-read snapshot of each company. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library) |
(Martindale-Hubbell, Inc.) This multi-volume set includes a list of firms and lawyers in the United States and Canada, a select list of foreign lawyers arranged by country, a roster of registered patent lawyers and a biographical section. Volume seven includes digests of the laws of the United States, Canada and foreign countries, U.S. copyright and trade laws, court calendars and uniform acts. Their web site affords a number of quick lookups as well. Located in the Law Collection (Reference) at 340.025
Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library). These tools provide information on publicly held companies and government institutions, including historical and financial data and is updated with News Reports. This database is available online in the Library, and available from home using your library card number for authentication.
(Thomson Financial Publishing) Geographic list of financial institutions with information on officers and directors, correspondents, out-of-town locations, assets and liabilities. Supplemental information includes maps for each state, state banking officials, legal holidays, bank holding companies, transit numbers, bank associations and a ranking of the largest financial institutions in the United States.
(Standard & Poor's) An annual directory of more than 75,000 U.S. and Canadian corporations and major international companies. Use this resource to obtain brief biographical information on executives and directors and to find out for which corporation an individual is working
(Thomas Publishing Co) This multi-volume set profiles more than 156,000 U. S. companies, many privately held. Use the companion product directories and catalog volumes to locate companies that manufacture a specific product. In Reference) at 670 T. Also available for free online.
(Gale Research) This seven-volume set lists both public and private U.S. companies. Use the last four volumes for extensive rankings by sales, state, and SIC and NAICS codes. Located in the Business Center Collection (Main Library). |
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Business Periodicals |
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(Weekly) A tabloid format emphasizing the business aspect of the auto industry. Serves as a source of sales, production and manufacturing information (especially statistics) for original-equipment manufacturers and their suppliers and dealers. Indexed from 1/1981 and full text available from 12/1994 on Business & Company Resource Center
(Weekly) Provides general business information that serves the needs of private investors and business and finance executives. Stories on current business, economic and political trends are accompanied by reports on companies and people in the news. Indexed from 1/1979 (full text unavailable) on Business & Company Resource Center. |
(Monthly) Articles focus on the thought leaders, newsmakers, and companies that are part of the Internet-based business environment. Recent issues have profiled web billionaires, discussed top companies involved in e-business, and provided guidelines for new startups.
(bimonthly) A more scholarly publication covering topics that relate to growing, developing, managing, and working within a business. Includes discussions of business situations, accounting/finance, management, marketing, small business, organizational dynamics, and more. Indexed from 1/1981 and full text available from 12/1994 on Business & Company Resource Center. |
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(Weekly) An excellent magazine that profiles the companies, industries, and individuals operating in today's global business environment. Provides ongoing analysis of executive and company performance. Indexed from 1/1979 and full text available from 11/1980 on Business & Company Resource Center. (Weekly) A well-respected and authoritative source of information on world politics, global business, finance and economics, and science and technology. The back section of each issue includes economic, financial, and market indicators. Indexed from 1/1985 and full text available from 1/1988 on Business & Company Resource Center. |
(Monthly) Provides information on "path-breaking businesses" to show who they are, why they work, and what lessons can be learned. Topics range from grassroots leadership to managing fast change. Indexed from 4/2001 and full text available from 4/2001 on Business & Company Resource Center. (Monthly) A standard title focusing on U.S. and international business news, trends, and analysis. The primary audience for the magazine is executives, managers, and investors in U.S. corporations. Indexed from 1/1979 and full text available from 1/1973 on Business & Company Resource Center. |
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(Monthly) The emphasis of this magazine is on investing and personal finance with articles related to industry and the economy, management, and personal finance. The April issue ranks the 500 largest U.S. corporations. Indexed from 1/1979 and full text available from 1/1973 on Business & Company Resource Center.
(Monthly) Provides scholarly articles on business trends, developments, and predictions. Areas covered include human resources management, manufacturing, strategic planning, globalization of markets, and related general business information. Indexed from 1/1979 and full text available from 3/1995, but stops with 5/2000 on Business & Company Resource Center. |
(Monthly) Covers trends in industry, business, and the general economy, including current and historical data from news releases on U.S. international trade in goods and services, gross domestic product, personal income and outlays, and similar information. Indexed from 1/1981 and full text available from 2/1983 on Business & Company Resource Center.
(Daily) The Wall Street Journal was originally a financial newspaper and is still a primary source of stock listings, bond ratings, currency exchange rates and other financial data. Also covers national and international news with a business or financial slant. Indexed from 4/2000; (full text not available) on Business & Company Resource Center |
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