Company Research Hints
When researching a company, keep in mind the following:
- Do you know the exact name of the company? For example, the drug store chain is called Walgreen’s, but the actual company name is Walgreen Co. Also, make sure you are searching for a company, not a brand name. For example, Crest is a brand of toothpaste produced by the company Proctor & Gamble.
- Is the company public or private? Private, or closely-held companies, do not sell stock to the public, and are not obligated to disclose information about themselves. For this reason it may be more difficult to obtain information about private companies. Articles and the company’s own web site may be the best sources of information for private companies. More on public vs. private companies.
- Your company may be part of more than one industry, and it is very helpful to do some industry research to see how your company is doing in its industry and sector, and among its competitors. Try our industry research guide.
Company Overviews
Start with your company's web site: Press releases, media, products, company history, and other information.
Then try:
- ProQuest One Business
A comprehensive business database containing millions of full-text items across scholarly and popular periodicals, newspapers, market research reports, dissertations, books, videos and more. Includes the full text of the Wall Street Journal. Formerly called ABI/INFORM Collection - Mergent Online
Detailed company information including 15 years of financial statements. Note: This database will be retired June 30, 2025 and replaced by Mergent Market Atlas. We will offer links to both resources until that date.
- PrivCo
Private company information! PrivCo.com is the premiere source for business and financial research on non-publicly traded corporations, including family-owned, private equity-owned, venture-backed and international unlisted companies.
Registration Required! The first time you access PrivCo, you will be asked to create an account. Register with your academic email address (@usfca.edu). With your own account, you will be able to save your searches and track companies in your personalized watchlist. Your account provides 1,000 profile views, 1,000 exported records, and 500 deal views per year. - Nexis Uni
Use the Menu pull down in the upper left corner to select Company Dossier, which allows you to search for company reports that include financials, news, analysts' reports, and other company information. Public companies: lots of information. Private companies: Very limited.
- EDGAR Company FilingsThis is the web site of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the US, public companies must file information with the SEC. A 10-K is the annual filing a company must make. Search by company name (or part of a name), ticker symbol, or search by industry to create a list of companies. If you find reports in EDGAR, that means the company is public.
- Statista
Easy to use statistics search engine with access to more than a million statistics and facts. - Business Source Complete
You can use Business Source Complete to find company profiles and company SWOT analyses. When you are on the main search page, look to the right of the screen for Company Profiles and SWOT Analyses. Click on the one that you want, then search for your company by name or with the alphabetical list. - Ignacio: Library Catalog
There may be a book about your company that can give great overviews. Give it a try!
Company Histories
International Directory of Company Histories
Contains detailed histories of over 11,000 worldwide companies. Information includes merger and acquisitions information, highlighted key dates and events, subsidiaries, and more. Type your company's name into: Search Within Series to find information.
- Internet Archive's Wayback MachineIf you want to see your company's web site over time, or if your company doesn't exist anymore and you want to see what their site used to look like, try this tool! Type in your company name to search.
Financial Data
- Mergent Online
Detailed company information including 15 years of financial statements. Note: This database will be retired June 30, 2025 and replaced by Mergent Market Atlas. We will offer links to both resources until that date.
- Nexis UniReplaces LexisNexis Academic.
More than 15,000 news, business, and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790.
Analyst Reports and Commentary
Because these reports are written for investors, you'll only find them for public companies.
- ProQuest One BusinessFinding analyst reports: 1. If you know the company you need, type in the name or ticker symbol, scroll down the screen to Report Containing, and select Analyst Reports. Click Search. 2. If you want to see all analyst reports available, leave the search box blank, then scroll down to Report Containing, and select Analyst Reports. Click Search.
- Nexis UniOnce you are on the main information page for a company, analyst reports will be on the left under Investment Research > Analyst Reports, and also Zacks Investment Research.
- Mergent OnlineOnce you are on the home screen for your company, click the Company Reports tab, and then click the link underneath that for Company Reports. The reports listed are analyst reports, some brief, others longer. Download to view.
- Analyzing Analyst RecommendationsThis article will explain some of the basics of what you can find in an analyst report, and why this information is important for company research.
ESG, Sustainability, and Corporate Social Responsibility
First, what is ESG, and what does it stand for?
E is Environmental
S is Social
G is Governance
For a longer explanation, see What is ESG? Definition and Meaning
And another explanation from Investopedia, with a short video
How can you find out about a company's ESG ratings, corporate responsibility, and sustainability information?
- Mergent OnlineTo find ESG for companies, follow these steps:
1. Log on to Mergent Online, and click the Industry Analysis tab.
2. Click the Reports tab
3. Click on the ESG tab on the right side of the screen
4. Download the report for your industry (note, these are large industry categories, so if you are not sure where your industry falls, Ask a Librarian!) - StatistaTo find ESG information:
1. search ESG, or ESG ratings, or ESG scores OR
2. search for a specific company or industry and add ESG to your search OR
3. search your company name with words like sustainability, environment, human rights, hiring, diversity, etc. - Nexis UniTo find ESG information:
1. on the main search screen, click on Advanced Search
2. In Advanced Search, scroll down to Source, and type in: CSRHub ESG Ratings
3. Back up under Searching All, type in your company name and click the red Search button.
4. If there is a report available, it will be shown in results.
Stock/Equity Research and Reports
- Mergent OnlineFor stock prices going back up to 30 years, search for your company and then click the Equity Pricing tab, then click Chart or Report. Information can be adjusted and downloaded.
For stock/equity reports, search for your company and then click the Reports tab, then click Equity reports. Click PDF icon to view. - Nexis UniTo view stock prices, select Menu, then Company Dossier at the top of the screen. Type in your company name and search. Once you select your company from the results list, under Stock Quotes and Charts on the right click on Expand Charts. Charts and data can be adjusted, chart display style can be changed, and information can be downloaded. View up to 40 years of data.
SWOT Analyses
- Business Source CompleteOn the main search screen, use the Browse menu on the right. Select SWOT Analyses, then type in your company's name or use the alphabetical list.
- An Essential Guide to SWOT AnalysisWritten by Justin Gomer and Jackson Hille, this excellent guide explains what a SWOT analysis is, what SWOT actually stands for, why SWOT analyses are important, and how to do one yourself!
- SWOT Analysis Template from businessballs.comThis is just one example of the criteria you can list in a SWOT analysis. This template can help you create your own SWOT analysis of a company.
Statistics and Market Share
- StatistaA database of statistics and data on industries, companies, market share, consumers, and much, much more. Data is viewable in different graph forms, and there are industry reports for certain industries. Search by company, industry, brand, product, and more!
Market Share ReporterProvides the market share for many companies within an industry, shown with pie charts and graphs. Each entry features a descriptive title; data and market description; a list of producers/products along with their market share. To search: Use the search box on the right that says, "Search within publication." You can search products, companies, brands, industries.
Ratios
- Mergent OnlineOnce you are on the main information screen for a particular company, the ratios will be under Company Financials > Analysis > Ratio Analysis
- Nexis UniTo get to ratios, use the pull down menu at the top of the start page to select Company Dossiers. Type in your company name, and click on it in the search results. Once you are on the main information page for a company, the ratios will be under Financial Overview > Ratio Analysis
- IBISWorld
Once you are on the information overview screen for an industry, the ratios will be under Key Statistics > Industry Financial Ratios. Find Key Statistics on the left side of the screen.
- MSN MoneyIn the middle of the screen, use the Quote Search to search for your company's name or ticker symbol. Then, click Analysis to view a number of ratios on financial health, growth, and other criteria. Also view your company's ratios with its industry ratios to compare your company to industry benchmarks.
- RMA Annual Statement Studies: Financial Ratio BenchmarksISBN: 1570703507Includes financial statistics and ratios, as well as comparative historical data and current data ranked by sales. Latest copy kept at the Reference Desk.
- Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios byLatest copy kept at the Reference Desk.
Business Ratios and Formulas by ISBN: 9781118169964This book lists and describes common business ratios and how to calculate them.
Company News and Articles
- Fusion
Fusion allows you to search, in one place, the majority of the library’s books, articles, videos, etc. It includes all the materials in our library catalog Ignacio, as well as the content of the majority of our many databases. - ProQuest One BusinessIncludes citations and summaries and full text from about 1000 business periodicals that contain company and industry information, as well as articles on many other business topics. Includes the full text of the Wall Street Journal.
- Business Source CompleteFocuses on facts, figures, events and market information about companies, industries, products and markets. It covers all industries and is international in scope. Also provides SWOT analyses for companies and industries. Includes the full text of the Harvard Business Review.
- Access World News
Through nearly 7000 news sources, find diverse global, local, regional, and national perspectives on topics related to controversial issues, the environment, health, education, science, the arts, literature, business, economics, criminal justice, and more. - Nexis UniUnder Guided Search select News, and then put your company or topic in the search box to find business news from national and international sources.
Nonprofit Organizations
These web sites can help you learn more about nonprofit organizations. To review an organization's financial health, view its financial documents and 990 tax forms.
- GuideStarGuideStar Basic is free, and you can also register at the site for free to access even more data. Includes financial statements, tax forms, and information on programs, operations, and effectiveness.
- Charity NavigatorCharity Navigator provides unbiased assessments of charities, and evaluates them based on criteria including financial health, transparency, and organizational activities. Includes charts of data, a rating system with explanations, and other metrics for evaluating the organization.
- Understanding Nonprofit Financial StatementsA brief guide for understanding and interpreting the financial statements of nonprofit organizations.
Directories
- Data Axle Reference Solutions
A directory of US businesses. Can be searched by business size, location, industry, etc. Also useful for determining if a business is public or private or finding company affiliations.
Citing Your Sources
Whenever you do research, you will need to cite the information sources that you use. Most business scholars use APA style. Here are some tools that can help you with this task:
Gleeson Library's guide to citations: How? Why? When?
- APA 7th Edition Citations for Business SourcesAn excellent guide to using APA 7th edition style for popular business sources. Scroll through the guide to find an example for the business source you are using in your research. Compiled by librarians Naomi Schemm, Marcia Dellenbach, Zachary Grisham, Marianne Hageman, Natalia Tingle, Matt Trowbridge, and Amanda Wheatley
- Citing Business Databases in APA: Michigan State University GuideThis guide was created to help with citing some common business databases
- Citing Business Databases from the University of North Carolina at GreensboroThis guide has some additional business database examples in APA style.
- MLA Business Citations: Youngstown State UniversityScroll down the page to see citations for specific business web sites, reports, and databases cited in MLA style.
- Purdue OWLOur favorite style guide web site is the OWL from Purdue University.
- RefWorks
RefWorks allows users to create personal databases to manage, store, and share the information citations/references. Users can automatically insert references from their database into their papers and generate formatted bibliographies and manuscripts in seconds. See our RefWorks Guide for information about creating accounts, adding references, and using add-ons.
Getting Help!
There are several ways to obtain assistance with your research. Read on!
The School of Management has a library liaison named Penny Scott, and you can contact her for help.
Her contact information is: email: plscott@usfca.edu * phone: 415-422-5389
It is best to call or email ahead, or make an appointment, to make sure she is available!
If Penny is not available, or any time you need help, you can always get help, just Ask a Librarian!