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Business Resources at CSU Libraries

Company Information Sources

When first conducting company research, determine whether the company is publicly traded, private, or a subsidiary.  Generally, there is much more information available on public companies since they are required to disclose financial information to the government. The following list contains print, database, and web site sources.  Note that some sources are available in more than one format.

Contents:

Please see the Industry Resource Guide and Finance and Investments Resource Guide for additional sources of information.

Company Profiles and Directories

  • America’s Corporate Families: The Billion Dollar Directory
    HG4057.A1352005Ref
    Directory of companies. A good place to discover who owns whom.
  • BusinessSourcePremier (database)
    HG4057.A1352005Ref
    Provides company reports for companies and industries as well as SWOT analyses. Also, you will find a large number of academic full-text journal articles here.
  • Directory of Corporate Affiliations
    HG4057.A219 2004 Ref
    Corporate affiliations for U.S. and International companies.
  • Dun&Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory(database)
    This directory of more than 1,300,000 U.S. companies provides brief public and private company information for those over $3 million dollars in net sales and more than 45 employees. Also provides limited executive information as well as an excellent SIC and NAICS lookup.
  • Fortune500
    http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/
    Electronic version of the annual rankings of U.S. corporations.
  • Hoover’s
    http://www.hoovers.com/free
    Free online version of company factsheets and includes both public and private companies. In-depth reports are available in Lexis/ Nexis Academic Universe database.
  • Hoover’s Guide to Private Companies
    HG 4057 .A286 2005 Ref
    Brief profiles of 900 U.S. companies with overviews, history, execs, location, products, competitors, and some financials. Some rankings are provided for largest employers, sales, and from Forbes and Inc.
  • Hoover’s Handbook of American Business
    HG 4057 .A2862 2003 Ref
    Profiles of 750 of the largest and most influential public and private companies in the U.S.
  • Hoover’s Handbook of Emerging Companies
    HG4057 .A325 2005 Ref
    Rankings include fastest growing (Forbes), growth, and market share
  • Hoover ’s Masterlist of Major U.S. Companies
    HF 5035 .H66 2005 Ref
    Basic directory information on 10,000 companies.
  • Lexis/ Nexis Academic Universe (database)
    Company profiles include Hoover ’s basic and in-depth reports.
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Significant company information forU.S. public companies.
  • Thomas Registrar of American Manufacturers
    http://www.thomasnet.com
    Lists over 150,000 U.S. manufacturing companies by specific product or service.
  • Ward’s Business Directory
    HG 4057 .A582 Ref
    A directory of U.S. public and private companies. Includes rankings by sales, industry, and state.

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International Company Directories

  • Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries
    HG4538 .A1D5 2001 Ref
  • Dun & Bradstreet Principal International Businesses
    HF54 .U5P74 2004/2005 Ref
  • EBSCO Business Source Premier (database)
    Datamonitor reports.
  • LexisNexis Academic Universe (database)
    Hoover ’s and S&P Corporate Descriptions to name a few sources.
  • Major Companies of Central & Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
    HF5154.7 .A3 M35 2002 Ref
  • Major Companies ofEurope
    HC241.2 .P667 2004 Ref
  • Major Companies of Latin America & theCaribbean
    HG4091.5 .Z65 M34 2003 Ref
  • Major Companies of SouthWest Asia
    HF5234.3 .A3 M35 2003 Ref
  • Major Companies of the Arab World
    HF3866 .M34 2003 Ref
  • Major Companies of the Far East andAustralasia
    HF 5255.5 .M34 2002 Ref
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Significant information on companies worldwide. World Businesses Directory/ World Trade Centers Organization
    HF54 .U5W667 2003 Ref

*see also International Business Resource Guide

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Annual Reports

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Financials & SEC filings

  • Academic Universe Lexis/ Nexis (database)
    Company financial reports provided by Disclosure. Some stock analysis from Zachs and Nelsons. Go to "business" then click on "company financial reports."
  • Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/welcome.html
    Provides information on publicly traded companies worldwide. Searchable by company name and ticker symbol. Provides financial, world, and market news.
  • EDGAR (SEC Filings & Forms)
    http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
    All public companies are required to file financial forms including annual reports (10-K) and proxy statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  They are available to the public through EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval system.
  • Investext (database)
    Company and industry analysis by investment brokers.
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Detailed financials for U.S. and International public companies.
  • The Value Line Investment Survey
    Information and analysis on approximately 1700 stocks in approximately 90 industries and updated every 13 weeks.

*See also Finance and Investments Resource Guide for additional resources for company stock and financial information.

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Company & Industry Ratios

  • Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
    • HF5681 .R25T68 Ref
  • Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (Dun & Bradstreet)
    HF5681 .R25I52 Ref
  • Mergent Online
    Ratios are available by company under "financials" tab. Also ability to compare ratios of companies within an industry under "create reports" tab.
  • Robert Morris Annual Statement Studies (RMA)
    HF5681 .B2R6 Ref

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Company Rankings

  • Business Rankings Annual
    HG 4057 .A1554 Ref
    Rankings grouped by subject. Indexed by company, person, and product.
  • D & B Business Rankings
    HG 4057 .A237 Ref
    Rankings by size and industry. Includes public, private, and foreign-owned companies. Rankings are based on sales volume and employee size.
  • Market Share Reporter
    HF 5410 .M25 Ref
    Market share rankings organized by SIC.
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Ability to compare companies on a variety of criteria from a custom list or by industry.
  • Ward's Business Directory
    HG4057 .A582 Ref
    State rankings by sales within 4-digit SIC and 6-digit NAICS.

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Histories

  • International Directory of Company Histories
    HD 2721 .I58 Ref
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Brief company histories.

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Bankruptcy Sources

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Company News

  • Academic Universe Lexis/Nexis
    Business news.
  • Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/welcome.html
    Provides information on publicly traded companies worldwide. Searchable by company name and ticker symbol.
  • CBS MarketWatch
    http://www.marketwatch.com/avatar.asp
    News from Reuters and AP. Also includes commentaries and a wealth of information on investing.
  • CNN Financial Network
    http://money.cnn.com/
    Business features and briefs, including text, audio, and videoclips.
  • FT.Com (Financial Times)
    http://news.ft.com/home/us
    Includes approximately one-third of the articles appearing in the print Financial Times, plus additional content prepared for the online version. Some content is free, but substantial amount is subscription-only. Also available full-text from 1982 to current through the Lexis/Nexis Academic database.
  • Mergent Online (database)
    Provides recent news and historical highlights.
  • MSNBC Business News
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072/?ta=y
    Includes top stories, feature articles, and highlights from the Wall Street Journal and other news sources.
  • NewsHub
    http://www.newshub.com/summary.php
    Integrates and reports headlines from newswires such as Yahoo!, PRNewswire , and USA Today, updated every 15 minutes.
  • PR Newswire
    http://www.prnewswire.com/
    Includes full-text of recent press releases from publicly traded companies.

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Colorado Companies

  • Colorado Business Directory
    HF 5065 .C6C64 2004/05 Ref
    Directory of businesses listed by city, category, major employers, public companies, executives, and manufacturers by SIC..
  • Colorado by the Numbers
    http://www.colorado.edu/libraries/govpubs/online.htm
    This site is maintained by the University of Colorado and provides some great links to statistical information about the state of Colorado. Excellent site to begin finding any business related statistical information in the state.
  • Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
    http://www.coworkforce.com/
    Unemployment information, labor and employment statistics by county, labor laws, resources for job seekers and businesses. Some information is also available in Spanish.
  • Colorado Front Range Business Directory
    HF5065 .C6C65 2002 Ref
     Two-volume reference with businesses listed alphabetically, by zip code, and by SIC.
  • Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade http://www.state.co.us/oed/guide/
     “Colorado Business Resource Guide”. Resource information for small businesses in Colorado.
  • Colorado Secretary of State Business Center
    http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/main.htm
    Variety of information for businesses in the state of Colorado including information on how to file business documents.
  • Denver Metro Business Directory
    HF 5068 .D4C65 2003/2004 Ref
    Listing of businesses alphabetically, by SIC and industry, and cross-referenced by street, and telephone.

*See also Colorado Publications Resources - Business & Economics for additional resources.

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