Research Guides: Business: Overviews: Profiles, Financials, Hierarchies, and SWOT Analyses

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Company Overviews:
Profiles, Financials, Hierarchies, and SWOT Analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)

S&P Capital IQ This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
A comprehensive company intelligence database, offering granular financial and capital structure information on millions of publicly traded companies worldwide, including data and graphs for historic stock prices, searchable SEC filings, mergers & acquisitions activities, and venture capital/private equity data. Also features biographic and professional connection information for millions of business practitioners.

PitchBook This link opens in a new window
Geography: US & Global
Data and research covering the private investment market, including venture capital, private equity, and M&A transactions. Information on companies, deals, investors, and funds. Use PitchBook to establish benchmarks, identify and analyze competitors, and search investor details.
The vendor of this resource may monitor, collect, store, and analyze Subscriber’s usage of the Services (“Subscriber’s Usage Data”) on both a Subscriber and individual User basis for the limited purposes of providing or improving the services.

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Public and private company information, as available, for companies worldwide. It's particularly useful for building lists of companies and for hierarchical parent/subsidiary relationships (use the Family Tree tab for a company). Mergent Intellect replaces Hoovers Pro. Data for both Mergent & Hoovers comes from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).

MarketLine Advantage This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Select public and select large private company profiles, spanning most major industries worldwide. Profiles often include a detailed SWOT Analysis.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Formerly LexisNexis Academic. The Company Dossier tool has public and private information for companies worldwide. Particularly helpful for hierarchical parent/subsidiary relationship and some executive email addresses (as available).

Nexis Uni [homepage] >> Menu [top left corner] >> Company Dossier
Tip: search on either the ticker symbol (for public companies), or the company's formal name.

Passport This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Analytical reports on large global consumer companies' operations in various countries worldwide. Some reports may include a detailed SWOT Analysis or have content to help write one.

Uniworld This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
A global directory in which every company within the database has at least one foreign subsidiary. Finds both US firms operating in foreign countries, and foreign firms operating in the US. Searchable on criteria including: industry, employee count, and revenue.

EDGAR
Access to all public companies' filings to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Offers full-text searching of all filings produced in the last 4 years.

Private Companies: Other Resources

PitchBook This link opens in a new window
Geography: US & Global
Data and research covering the private investment market, including venture capital, private equity, and M&A transactions. Information on companies, deals, investors, and funds. Use PitchBook to establish benchmarks, identify and analyze competitors, and search investor details.
The vendor of this resource may monitor, collect, store, and analyze Subscriber’s usage of the Services (“Subscriber’s Usage Data”) on both a Subscriber and individual User basis for the limited purposes of providing or improving the services.

News is often one of the only sources on info on private companies!

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Worldwide coverage of local and regional newspapers, trade publications, business news wires, press release wires, media transcripts, news photos, and business-rich websites.
Maximum 12 users at a time.

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Geography: Global
Covers virtually all business subjects. Thousands of news articles from popular and trade sources.

Search first only by company name, and add more words as needed.
For ambiguous names, e.g. Apple, use: Select a Field (dropdown) > CO Company Entity.

Access World News This link opens in a new window
Access World News provides information and perspectives from numerous national and international news sources, offering diverse viewpoints on local, regional and world issues. Date coverage varies with individual newspaper.

Learn this search: News articles for a specific company

Press Releases
The Press Release page for a private company, discoverable through Google, is also a critically important resource.

Tip

Imagine that you are an executive at a private company. What information (financial or otherwise) would you share if it meant your competitors may use it for their own benefit?

Companies do not voluntarily share info about themselves, unless the SEC requires it by law, or unless companies believe disclosure gives them a competitive advantage.