| Overviews | Directories |
| Companies in an Industry | Financials / Annual Reports |
| Rankings | Histories |
| Bankrupt Companies | Business Leader Biographies |
Company Overviews:
Hoover's Online provides overviews of U.S. and international public and private companies. Type in your company name in the search box; the first screen on any Hoover's entry is the company overview. Overviews are brief, usually the equivalent of one page or less. While Hoover's does cover many private companies, these entries are usually much less complete than those of public companies.
Use the link above or go to the Business Source Complete database and click on the tab in the top line that says "More" and pull down the menu, then click on "Company Profiles". Use the Browse function to type in your company name. DataMonitor Company Profiles are anywhere from 10 to 65 pages depending on the company. The First three sections of a DataMonitor Company Profile are the Overview, Key Facts, and Business Description. All three of these sections provide the most basic introductory information about a company.
Companies in an Industry:
In the entry for most companies is a link entitled "Competitors"; this includes a list of 3 "Top Competitors" and a longer list of "All Competitors". In Hoover's Online you can access the records for all of these competing companies by clicking on the company name.
Use the link above or go to the Business Source Complete database and click on the tab labeled "Company Profiles". In the entry for all companies is a link entitled "Top Competitors", which can be accessed directly by clicking on the bookmark link on the left side of the screen. DataMonitor Company Profiles provide a list of top competitors for each company they profile, usually 10 to 25 competing companies.
The Advanced Search option allows you to get lists of companies by SIC or NAICS codes.
Rankings:
Business Rankings Annual (Call number HG4050 B88, on Business Shelves under "Company Information")
This annually-published source compiles ranking information about businesses and presents "top ten" lists for topics such as "Top Brands of Athletic Footwear", "Fastest Growing Women's Apparel Store Chains", and "Metropolitan Areas in the Southern U.S. with the Fastest-Growing Home Prices".
Bankrupt Companies:
Bankruptcy DataSource lists companies that have filed for bankruptcy within a certain period of time. To get to Bankruptcy DataSource in the Academic via Lexis-Nexis database:
Click on the "Sources" tab at the top of the screen. There will be a box to the far right of the screen that says "find a source". Type in the word "bankruptcy" and click on "Go" and a screen will appear with numerous listings. Select Bankruptcy DataSource. This source lists companies that have filed for bankruptcy within a certain period of time. By changing the "Specify Date" field at the bottom of this screen you can retrieve listings for a year, two years, etc.
Company Directories:
|
|
The Reference USA database is a directory of over 10,500,000 U.S. companies. It can be searched a variety of ways: > By business name Reference USA can be searched by a variety of other variables such as executive gender, number of personal computers, or square footage.. These searches can be combined to create lists of businesses. Entries contain addresses, phone numbers, annual sales, credit ratings, and much more.
|
Financials / Annual Reports:
Mergent Online is a database that provides online access to extensive information on companies, including financials, stock, properties, joint ventures, subsidiaries, S.E.C. filings, debt, etc., for over 11,000 U.S. companies as well as over 17,000 foreign companies. This database is especially useful for company financial information, with data going back fifteen years. This database may be used in a variety of ways, as indicated in part by the tabs Basic Search, Advanced Search, and EDGAR Search. Results from any of these searches can be added to a company analysis list and used to compare a number of companies on a variety of criteria.
BASIC SEARCH allows you to access a company's business summary; financials (annual or quarterly), balance sheet, income statement, retained earnings, cash flow, etc.
EDGAR SEARCH provides access to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, such as form 10K, proxies, etc.
ADVANCED SEARCH allows you to search for and create lists of companies that satisfy certain financial criteria, operate in a particular industry or industries, or are located in a specific geographical area. This is a multi-step process, as show below:
 |
Instead of entering a specific company name, ticker, or CUSIP from the Basic Search screen, choose the tab labeled "Advanced Search." On the Advanced Search screen (see image), choose your search based on one or all of the available categories and their subset of data points. For example: You would like to locate electronic computer manufacturers with revenues of over $5,000,000. In the first box, select which universe(s) that you would like to search across. In the second box, select the category of "Industry Codes" and then choose either "Any SIC" or "Primary SIC" from the data points menu. Then type the SIC Code (3571) into the "Search Value" field, and click the "Add" button at the bottom of Box 2 (There is a lookup table available above the Search Value field if you do not know what Industry Code you are looking for). The criteria you just set up will be added to the third box, Search Criteria. Next, select the category "Financials" then the "Total Revenue" data point, from box 2. Select the "Greater Than" (>) button then enter 5,000,000 in the "Search Value" field and click on "Add" to add it to the Search Criteria. Once you're satisfied with the search criteria listed, click on "Run Search" to retrieve your results.
|
Company Histories:
International Directory of Company Histories (Call Number: Rivera Ref HD2721 .I63)
 |
|
Do a search for your company. Click on "History" from the navigation called "Browse Company Record" on the left hand side of the company information page. You will get a brief history of your company.
Business Leader Biographies:
The company profiles in the Hoover's Online database include brief biographies of company executives. Click on the "People" link in the left hand column. In most cases these entries will include such biographical information as the age, salary and bonus amounts, and in the case of the CEO, a summary of the company's performance and prospects under that person's leadership.
Business Leader Profiles for Students (Call Number: Rivera Ref HF54.U5B85)
 |
Business Leader Profiles for Students is a 2-volume set with profiles of prominent business leaders. Volume 1 covers business leaders from the 18th century through the late 1990s, volume 2 updates the first volume with profiles of current business leaders. Each profile includes an overview of the leader's important contributions, a brief sketch of their personal life, career details, a career chronology, sources of information, and a bibliography.
|