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Company Research

Methodology | Company Overviews | Current Financials | Historical Financials | Analyst Reports | Stocks & Bonds | News | Finding Companies | Competitors | SWOT |Help

Methodology

It is easier to find information about public companies (those that sell stock to shareholders) than about private companies (those that are privately owned by an individual or group). Public companies in the United States are required by law to file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These include the 10K (annual) and 10Q (quarterly) reports. In addition, public companies issue an annual report to shareholders.

When looking for information about a company, consider both information from the company about itself (e.g., the company website, SEC filings, press releases, etc.) as well as information about the company written by others (e.g., newspaper articles, Wall Street analyst reports, articles by business school professors, etc.)

Finding information about a company includes the following steps:

  • Get an overview of the company; find out if it is public or private.
  • Find the company website and look at its corporate links and press room.
  • If the company is public, find relevant 10K and 10Q reports and annual reports to shareholders.
  • Look for news and periodical articles for additional information.  This may be the only option to find information on private companies.
  • For public companies, look for Wall Street analyst and brokerage reports. 
  • Identify competitors.

Many business information resources will give you all of these types of information. 

Company Overviews

USC Subscription-Based Online Services
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Resources

 Crocker Business Library

  • Mergent's Manuals (Reference Collection: search HOMER for these specific titles): Bank and Finance; Industrial; International; Municipal and Government, OTC Industrial; OTC Unlisted; Public Utilities & Transportation. Includes a short company history, subsidiaries, products, joint ventures, officers and directors, balance sheet, income statement, locations, and capital structure of entities listed.
  • ValueLine Investment Survey (Circulation Desk) Analyzes about 1,500 companies in 76 industries, and gives a one-page review of both companies and industries. Includes forecasts for companies.
  • International Directory of Company Histories (Reference HD2721.I63).  Also available online through the Gale Virtual Reference Library (Business module). 

Current Financial Information (10K, 10Q, Annual Reports)

Public companies are required by law to file annual 10K reports and quarterly 10Q reports with the Securites and Exchange Commission  (SEC). Since 1994, many of these reports have been filed electronically, and are available online. Annual 10K reports include a detailed description of the business, management's discussion of how well the company has done, and detailed financial information presented according to accepted accounting standards.

Public companies also publish annual reports to stockholders; these give much of the same information as in the SEC filings, but tend to be more forward thinking. Sometimes the annual report to stockholders includes the 10K report.

USC Subscription-Based Online Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Sources

School of Business Network (HOH, BRI, ACC, JKP)

  • Bloomberg: specialized terminal with proprietary access to company information (ask the Crocker Front Desk for access) 
  • Worldscope: Disclosure's comparable product for international companies (2006 is the latest data) 

Historical Financial Information (10K, 10Q, Annual Reports)

USC Subscription-Based Online Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Sources

External Sources

For older proxy statements and annual reports:

  • Should you need to have someone go to the offices of the SEC to obtain documents, call National Corporate Research (Washington, D.C.)
    (202) 265-1516

Analyst Reports

USC Subscription-Based Online Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Sources

Stocks & Bonds

Generally Available Online Sources

Crocker Business Library and Subscription-Based Online Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

News and Journal Articles

USC Subscription-Based Online Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Sources

Finding Companies

USC Subscription-Based Sources
These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

Generally Available Online Sources

Crocker Business Library

  • Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies (Reference HG 4057 .A4433) Provides complete company listings to approximately 120,000 companies with national and state ranking by sales within SIC codes
  • Corporate Affiliations (Reference HG 4057 .A219) Allows you to look up a parent company, subsidiary, or division of affiliate by major domestic and international companies
  • Dun's Million Dollar Directory (Reference HC102.D8) Allows you to look up companies by geographic location and by industry. Also lists many smaller private companies
  • Southern California Business Directory and Buyer's Guide (Circ Desk HF5068.L6L58) 

 Identifying Competitors

These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats)

These database links will re-direct you to our proxy-enabled subscription database page to facilitate connectivity:

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Methodology | Company Overviews | Current Financials | Historical Financials | Analyst Reports | Stocks & Bonds | News | Finding Businesses | Competitors