A company or organization website can be an excellent source of information for locations, products and services, pricing, and product specifications. For public companies, they can include the company's mission statement as well as links to annual reports and 10-K's. SEC filings, especially 10-K reports, may include products, markets, distribution channels, research and development, patent, and environmental safety information.
Note: Websites are not objective information sources, do not depend on them to tell the entire story about a company or organization.
To find profiles and other information about a company, such as its history, product lines, customer base, key suppliers, management team, strategy, and competitors, use the following resources. ReferenceUSA is the best resource for researching smaller, private companies.
Contains comprehensive company information from international public companies, detailed industry reports, analyst reports, SEC filings, and market research.
Subscription does not include access to Business Contact credits (direct dial and email addresses).
Public company financial data, SEC filings, and industry information. Investment analyst reports available via the Investext module.
Note: Mergent will be discontinuing the Mergent Online platform in mid-2025. Its replacement, Mergent Market Atlas, is available now.
Financials and information for hard to research private companies.
Public company, mutual fund, and ETF data plus SEC filings, analyst research reports, industry reports, and stock screening & charting tools.
Identifying and learning about competitors for small and local businesses can be challenging, and may require primary research, such as talking directly to people in the industry or local business community. The secondary sources listed here are good places to start.
Powerful business and consumer research database that offers access to information on millions of businesses and households across the United States. It provides data on company profiles, business demographics, industry information, and residential listings. Exporting of data is limited to batches of 500 items at a time.
Contains full-text articles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal which provides in-depth news about Minnesota companies, the local business environment, and the Annual Book of Lists. It also contains additional business journals from other cities that cover regional news from across the United States.