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Business Externship: Research: Resources

Company Research: Sources

In researching your company, there are several resources worth consulting. Here is a small list of useful databases, the content they contain and why they might be helpful.

News/Press Releases: Get up-to-date news reports on events occurring at your company. Includes financial information, major controversies or legal cases, and changes in business strategies. Can be found on: Mergent Online, Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage, Factiva, D&B Hoovers, ReferenceUSA, Google Finance, Yahoo Finance.

Financial Statements/Annual Reports: Once you get pass the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, much of a company's annual report contain very useful and practical information about the company's objectives/performance, main growth areas, product execution and strategies to be pursued in coming years. The 10k Annual Report contains the easy-to-understand summary of company initiatives and past year performance for investors. See: Edgar (SEC) or any company profiler. 

Company Profilers: Company Profilers are subscription databases that provide comprehensive, one-stop-shop coverage of a company, complete with news, financial statements, stock reports, wider industry reports, competitors, and lists of reported case decisions. 

Litigation/Legal Data: If you are working for a legal department within a company, and you want to get a preview of what kind of legal cases that the company often deals with- Bloomberg Representation Analytics can provide an overview of recent cases, firms and legal areas that the company was involved in. 

Review Sites: Sites like Glassdoor provide good overviews about the culture and experiences of current and past employees. 

Financial Statements

News Reports

Review Sites

Company Profiles

Mergent Online

Profiles Contain: News, Company Details (synopsis of the firm’s history, objectives, business structure and segments), Reports (Annual financial statements and annual reports). Substantial private firm database. 

Instructions:

  1. Select US Company Database (Active)
  2. Company search with your companies name.

 

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage

Profiles Contain: News/Press Releases, Basic Profile Summary (business description, number of employees, industries firm sells products in, Stock Reports (provide industry and company outlooks, details on operations), Industry Surveys (provide information about the industry and competitors associated with firm)

Instructions:

  1. Search by your company name under "Quick Links". 

 

Factiva

Profiles Contain: Provides News, MultiMedia (video and TV segments), Key Developments (editorial enhancement by Reuters highlighting major changes to firm structure, policies, etc), Peer Comparison, Company Report.

Instructions:

  1. To find the reports in Factiva click on "Company" under the Companies/Markets tab in the upper left hand corner. Type in the name of your company and choose it from the list that will appear, then use the links in the upper left hand corner to access the reports

 

D&B Hoovers

Profiles Contain: Company Summary: Provides a business description, executive list, significant developments (legal, mergers, divestitures, strategic combinations), news, financial summary, stock information, Analyst Reports (often provide key insights into the firm, its internal operations, competitors, and market, Annual Reports, Financial Statements

Instructions:

  1. On the first landing page for this resource, look up your company by name in the search bar at the top right.

 

ReferenceUSA

Profiles Contain: Information on over 14 million U.S. public and private companies, including contact information, estimated financials for private companies, industry codes, and more. Substantial private firm database. 

Instructions:

  1. Select "U.S. Businesses" and then search.
  2. Enter a company name in quick search. ​

Litigation Analyzers