Start - Company Research - Research Guides at Eastern Michigan University

Get Quick Info

Hoover's Company Records via ProQuest Entrepreneurship
Brief description, history, sales, competitors, etc.
Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database
Search for companies by numerous criteria. Esp useful for private company sales info.
Subjects: Private Companies, Public Companies, U.S. Companies
Info Type: directory info, executives, sales, credit scores
Corporate Affiliations
Best source for info on subsidiaries, both U.S. and international.
Our license is for only one user at a time.
***Please click "Sign Off" button when finished.***
Euromonitor Company Profiles in Warc
Includes only a small number of large consumer goods & services companies--but the reports are very useful.

Create Your Own Lists

Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database
Use the Advanced Search to create lists of companies that meet a combination of specific criteria, such as minimum sales, number of employees, location, industry, employee growth, etc.

Examples:
You can generate a list of florists in the 734 telephone area code.

You can generate a list of automotive manufacturers in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana that have more than 2 million in sales.

You can generate a list of companies in Washtenaw County that have over 100 employees.

The Advanced Search is a little tricky--if you have trouble, ask a librarian for help.

Getting Started

The answers to these questions determine the best starting point for your research.
If you know which category fits, use the appropriate tab above 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 (in box to the left). 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 at left.

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 Co's tabs.
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!

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.

Try doing a google search to see which company produces the brand.

Or, search ProQuest Business using Product Name field.

Business - Scholarly & Trade (ProQuest)
Key source for business articles (includes ABI/INFORM)
Subjects: Business, Communications, Economics, Health Admin, Public Admin
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles, news, reports, dissertations
Brief Instruction Video: Using ProQuest PowerSearch
Google

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.