LibGuides: Business: Companies

Company research strategies

Starting points

Before using databases, gather basic details on the company with a general search engine like Google. Example: search results in Bing for the grocery store Sprouts. Try to gather the following:

Company's full, official name: While the common name (e.g., Sprouts) might be enough, some databases require the company's official name (e.g., Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.) to return correct results.
Company type: public or private: Knowing whether a company is public or private can affect how you research that company. You'll want to know the stock ticker for public companies, and details on a comparable public competitor when researching a private company.
- For public: stock ticker: Adding the words "stock ticker" to your basic search (e.g., Sprouts stock ticker) should bring it up immediately (e.g., SFM). (If you can't find the ticker, it's likely the company is private.) Most business databases let you use the ticker as a search term to increase the relevance of your results.
- For private: public "proxy company": Identifying a similarly sized public company in the same industry to act as a "proxy" for a private company can help you estimate financial details that may be difficult or impossible to find on the private company.
Headquarters location: Just as with the full name and ticker symbol, knowing where a company is headquartered will help you correctly identify the company in search results.

Private vs. Public

Certain data are less available on privately held US companies since they are not required to report their financials to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). You may need to find details on private companies from news articles, industry reports, and public competitors. Identifying a "proxy company" as mentioned above will also help.

"Best bets" for most company research

Bizminer This link opens in a new window
Use the Company Profile search to find a company by location. Best used for local/regional companies or a specific location of a larger firm. To identify competition, consider using the Industry Market search, too. How to access: Click on "Academic Library Detected..." to enter the site.
Business Insights: Global This link opens in a new window
Search a company by name or ticker symbol, or click on the Browse All Companies link just below the main search bar. Find financial data, rankings, investment reports, news, and more on public and select private companies.
Business Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Open More in the top navigation menu and click on Company Profiles. (Not recommended to use the Company Information search in the main menu.)
Euromonitor's Passport GMID This link opens in a new window
Use the Categories drop-down menu in the center of the homepage to select Companies, then click Go. Follow the steps to search a company by name and select the appropriate industry sectors and geographical markets. Results include company and brand shares and sales, financial performance, market sizes, and global company profiles. Works best for companies in consumer goods and services.
IbisWorld This link opens in a new window
Select Products from the top navigation to find Company Benchmarking reports listed under Company. These US company benchmarking reports provide competitive analysis and market share figures.
Market Atlas This link opens in a new window
New! Find details on public companies globally, including ownership, executives, financial data, SEC filings, sustainability (ESG and CSR) reports, ESG ratings (current and historical), and more. Read more about content and coverage.
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
New! Find company data on US public and private companies.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Search for company information in two ways: Open the "waffle" menu in the top left and select Nexis Dossier (preferred), or click on the Companies tab in the top ribbon. When using Dossier, search by company name or stock ticker to find a company profile with news, reports, financials, and more.
PitchBook This link opens in a new window
Search public or private companies by name or ticker symbol. In addition to financial information, ownership, and news, Pitchbook includes M&A, venture capital, and private equity transactions. Note: You must first set up a personal account with an email address ending in "@arizona.edu" to use this database. For problems logging into an existing account, access the database above, click on "Create an account" link, enter your arizona.edu email address, then click on the link in the email you receive and reset your password.
Restrictions on use:
Users may not publish PitchBooks data to any public forum such as a publicly available website.
Users may not use PitchBook data for any non-academic purpose.
University may institute disciplinary actions against any Users who intentionally misuse PitchBooks data.
Statista This link opens in a new window
Select Insights from the top navigation and go to Company Insights. Search by name, not ticker symbol. Another good choice is the Companies and Products Reports search on the Reports tab.

Best for company financials, transactions, and shares

Most databases under "Best Bets" provide financials on public companies, but these resources specialize in certain financial data and transactions.

Find more information on creating, finding, or analyzing financial statements on the Accounting guide.

Bizminer This link opens in a new window
Use Company Profile search, using company name and location (state) details. Best used when researching local/regional companies or specific locations of larger firms. How to access: Click on "Academic Library Detected..." to enter the site.

EDGAR (SEC.gov)
All public companies, U.S. and foreign, are required to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this information for free. For annual financial statements, select a company's 10-K. If you aren't sure which form you need, use the link for SEC Forms List (PDF versions) and look at the form descriptions.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
M&A transactions: In the main search box, click on "All Content Types" and select Companies, then select Mergers and Acquisitions. Click away from the box to close it, unless you want to choose specific M&A sources. Next, type in the company or other keywords in the search box. Note: This search may also include charitable giving and grant awards. Selecting specific sources from the Content Types filter can help exclude those transactions.

Nonprofit Explorer
Use ProPublica's database to search tax returns from tax-exempt organizations and see financial details such as executive compensation, revenue, and expenses. You can browse IRS data released since 2013 and access over 9.6 million tax filing documents going back as far as 2001.

PitchBook This link opens in a new window
Find data, research and technology covering the private capital markets, including venture capital, private equity and M&A transactions. Note: You must first set up a personal account with an email address ending in "@arizona.edu" to use this database. For problems logging into an existing account, access the database above, click on "Create an account" link, enter your arizona.edu email address, then click on the link in the email you receive and reset your password.
Restrictions on use:
Users may not publish PitchBooks data to any public forum such as a publicly available website.
Users may not use PitchBook data for any non-academic purpose.
University may institute disciplinary actions against any Users who intentionally misuse PitchBooks data.
Value Line Research Center This link opens in a new window
Information and advice on stocks, industries, mutual funds, options, and convertibles.
Winmo This link opens in a new window
Find ad spends by media type in addition to information on advertising agencies, advertisers, key contacts, and more with this sales prospecting tool formerly known as the Advertising Red Books.

Best for local and regional businesses

When you need details on local businesses or specific business locations (e.g., a specific Sprouts store) of a larger entity.

Bizminer This link opens in a new window
BizMiner produces the most granular industry statistical reports in the market. The database provides industry financial analysis benchmarks for over 5,000 lines of business and industry market trends on thousands more. Our market analysis reports are available at the national and local levels down to the zip code.
Note: Click on "Academic Library Detected..." to enter the site.
Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) This link opens in a new window
Data Axle Reference Solutions can help users create marketing plans, conduct competitive analysis, raise funds, and locate people. This database has access to millions of US and Canadian businesses, consumers, U.S. new businesses, and U.S. new homeowners.
Historical ReferenceUSA data is available in ReDATA.

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Business

Your Librarian

Companies

Company research strategies

Starting points

Private vs. Public

"Best bets" for most company research

Best for company financials, transactions, and shares

Best for local and regional businesses

Information for

Libraries & Locations

Search form

Business

Companies

Company research strategies

Starting points

Private vs. Public

"Best bets" for most company research

Best for company financials, transactions, and shares

Best for local and regional businesses

Information for

Libraries & Locations

Connect