Research Guides: Business Information Guide: Company Research

Company Research Overview

General Recommendations for Researching Companies:

Research your company in more than one company research database. When looking into the internal environment of a company and attempting to identify strengths and weaknesses, a good starting point would be to search for the company in the company databases listed below. Each database presents information from different sources or in a different manner— You may find a great SWOT analysis in one, a comprehensive focus on financials in another, in-depth executive profiles in yet another database, and so on.

Find current news and in-depth studies on your company in article databases. While many of the company research databases feature articles and current news about a company (Nexis Uni and Business Insights: Essentials are especially strong in this area), you should also research your company in business article and multidisciplinary article databases to increase your understanding of the company and awareness of news about the company.

Use the Advanced Search feature in company databases to create lists of companies by industry code (such as NAICS code) and other criteria. Company databases Mergent Intellect, ReferenceUSA, and Nexis Uni are a few of the databases that can be used to create lists of companies by industry code, geography, sales, number of employees, and other criteria.

Recommended Databases for Company Research

Top Three Database Recommendations for Company Research:

Business Insights: Essentials
Includes company profiles, financials, and SWOT analyses, industry reports and associations, market share reports, business publications, and more.
Mergent Intellect
Information about U.S. and international public and private companies, company news, and key business ratios. Searchable by company, person, or industry. Includes content in D & B Million Dollar Database and offers FirstResearch industry profiles, Indeed job search, Nielsen demographics, and a residential directory.
ReferenceUSA : Business
Features thousands of U.S. and Canadian company profiles. Especially strong in smaller companies, which may not be included in other company databases. Includes a U.S. New Businesses search, with new businesses added each week.

Additional Recommended Databases for Company Research:

EDGAR
The SEC’s EDGAR database provides free public access to U.S. public company information, enabling research on a company’s financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. You also can find information about recent corporate events reported on Form 8-K that a company does not have to disclose to investors. Information and data (including full reports) from EDGAR may also be found in the Libraries' subscription databases that cover public companies.

COMPUSTAT
For a “daypass” URL to be automatically emailed to you, you must enter a valid syr.edu email address. For remote or longer term access, register at Wharton Research Data Services.
Financial information, including income statements, stock prices, balance sheets, and data about publicly held companies, including some historic data.
Dun & Bradstreet Private Company
Users are required to register and will be asked to login each time. User registration enables saving searches and email notifications.
Historic U.S. private company information from D&B’s historical Duns Marketing Information (DMI) files. Download data from specific years or a range of years from 1969 up to two years from the current year (with the exception of 1981 and 1984, which are unavailable).
GuideStar Pro
For help with bulk downloading financial data or building reports for multiple nonprofit organizations, contact Public Administration Librarian, Michael Pasqualoni (315) 443-3715 mjpasqua@syr.edu or visit the first floor information desk, Bird Library.

Information about U.S. nonprofit organizations from Internal Revenue Service Form 990 financial statements and the organizations themselves.
Hoover's Company Profiles
Features company profiles on thousands of public and private businesses.
Leadership Connect
Focuses on non-profit and government organizations and executives.
Marketline Advantage
Offers in-depth company, industry and product intelligence. Provides international coverage.
Mergent Archives
Moody's/Mergent Corporate and Municipal Manuals, D&B Key Business Ratios, and the Mergent Historical SEC Collection.
Mergent Online
Financial information and detailed profiles on public U.S. companies, as well as in-depth profiles on international companies. Search Hint: Use the "Advanced" search to obtain comparative company data.
Nexis Uni
News, business, and legal sources from LexisNexis— including U.S. Supreme Court decisions, together with extensive current and historical U.S. state and federal statutes, published court decisions and regulations. Registering for a free ID and password is recommended for features such as alerts and saved searches. Search Hint: Once you are in Nexis Uni, for company profiles, click on "Company Dossier," under the dropdown Menu, in the upper left side of the screen. For additional business content, click on "Business," under "Discover topics."
PrivCo
Users are required to register with their syr.edu email address and will be asked to login each time.

Company profiles on private (non-publicly traded) companies. Includes financials, venture capital and private equity funding, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
ProQuest Historical Annual Reports
Annual reports on U.S. companies.
Uniworld
Information about multinational businesses, including details about headquarters, branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates. Includes: American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries Directory and Foreign Firms Operating in the United States Directory.
Westlaw Campus Research
Provides access to law and regulatory resources, such as the U.S. Code Annotated, federal and state cases, the Code of Federal Regulations, and more, plus business, company, news and global resources. Search Hint: Once you are in Westlaw, click on "Company Investigator" (under "All Content") to explore company profiles and to create lists of companies.

Business Information Guide

Company Research Overview

Recommended Databases for Company Research

Top Article Databases for Company Research