Research Guides: Company Research: Start

Get started

The answers to these questions determine the best starting point for your research.
If you know which category fits, use the appropriate tab to the right to start your research.

Is the company public or private?
Is it a U.S. company or an international company?
Is the company owned by another company (a subsidiary)?
Is the company large or small?
Are you looking for info on a nonprofit organization?
Or, are you looking for specific types of info such as company history, financial, social performance, rankings, etc.?

If you don't know, look for a profile in Hoover's (link below). If you find your company in Hoover's, examine the info to see if your company is traded on a stock exchange, is a subsidiary, or is a private company.

If you can't find the company in Hoover's, try the other directories linked below.

If you can't find the company in any of the directories:

There is a good chance that it may be a small private company.Try resources on the Private Co tab. If it is also a Michigan company, try resources on BOTH the Private and the Michigan Companies pages.
Or, there is a chance that you are using a brand name and the company name is different.
Or, there is a chance you've made a typo or spelling mistake.

If you aren't getting anywhere, ask a librarian for some help!

Quick Info - will tell you if a company is public, private, international, subsidiary

Hoover's Company Records (via ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Brief description, history, sales, competitors, etc.
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Large global news database covers all countries
Access Tips: Up to 6 users at a time. If you don't get in, try again later.
Use Companies/Markets tab then Companies link to search public, private and international companies.
Standard & Poors NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Companies traded on U.S. exchanges, Industries, Investment
Info types: company info and financials, bond ratings, industry overviews and trends, stock reports, mutual fund reports
Access Tips: In Company Profiles, note numerous links to the left leading to detailed info.
Statista This link opens in a new window
You can search for statistics related to a specific company in Statista. May find financials, sales, market share, ad spend, forecasts, employee numbers, etc.

Parent or Subsidiary?

When a company is owned by another company, the company traded on the exchange that owns other companies is called the parent company; the companies under the parent are called subsidiaries.

If your company is a subsidiary, you will need to research the parent company. You might not be able to find separate financial info on the subsidiary. However, many details on the subsidiary might be found in the parent company's SEC filings (esp. the 10-K report), articles, and other sources.

Company Name or Brand Name?

Sometimes a student has trouble finding a company, because the word the student is searching is actually a brand name. Sometimes a brand and company name are the same; but sometimes the brand is produced by a company with a different name. For example, Kleenex is made by Kimberly-Clark.

There is a large free database that can be used to identify brand owners. It's also possible to search for a brand name in Advertising RedBooks or ABI/INFORM (ProQuest).

Global Brand Database
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) offers a large free database of trademarks.

Advertising Red Books - now Winmo This link opens in a new window
Search for advertisers and agencies using the search box at the top of the page.
EMU's subscription does not include: upload a prospect list, Adbeat, WinmoTalk, or alerts.
ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new window
Key source for business articles.
Subjects: Accounting, Auditing, Business, Communications, Economics, Ed Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health Admin, Hotel Restaurant Mgmt, Management, Public Admin, Technology
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles, news, reports, dissertations
Brief Instruction Video: ProQuest Basics

Special Directories @ EMU Library
hard copy only

Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory
Call Number:
REF HD 69 .C6 C647
It can be especially difficult to find information on consulting firms.

Entries for consulting firms include: address, web site, number of staff, names of executives, description of activities, and geographic area served. Some entries will include an estimate of annual consulting revenues, but this information is not always available. Some entries also include branch information, listings of workshops, or computer/special services.

Listings are arranged by broad consulting categories. Use the index in volume 2 to look up an entry by company name, geography, or consulting activity.

Due to budget cuts we don't have the most recent version of the directory.
National Minority and Women-owned Business Directory
Call Number:
REF HD 2346.U5 N34
Use to identify businesses that are at least 51% owned by minorities. Entries include address information, lines of business, # of employees, sales, certification information, and codes for type of minority owner.

Due to budget cuts we don't have the most recent version of the directory.

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Company Research