Guides & Tutorials

How to RESEARCH A COMPANY

GUIDELINES (Summary):

  1. Locate a corporate description or profile. (Go!)
  2. Find and analyze statistics and financial data. (Go!)
  3. Use periodical sources to update the information you have already found. (Go!)

LOCATION CODES:

RD Available at the Reference Desk
RS Available in the Reference Stacks, 1st Floor
DBS Online database accessible from this guide and also from the Library home page by selecting Databases

Important Remote Access Information

Guidelines (Detailed):

1) Locate a corporate description or profile.

Corporate descriptions normally include information about ownership, location, and size. Corporate profiles provide more in-depth information about company history, current performance, and strategy.

Directories in Perry Library:

Location Title Call Number
RD Directory of Corporate Affiliations of Major Corporations HG 4057 .A219
RD Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations HG 4057 .A4
RD Corporate America (CD-ROM) HG 4057 .A2C67
RD Virginia Industrial Directory HC 107 .V8 I53
RS Virginia Manufacturers Directory HF 5065 .V8 V57
RS Million Dollar Directory HC 102 .D8
RS Who Owns Whom: North America HG 4538 .W423
RS Virginia Business Directory HF 5065 .V8 V58
RS Thomas Register of American Manufacturers T 12 .T6
RS Dun & Bradstreet Europa HF 54 .D86
RS Principal International Businesses HF 54 .U5 P74

Profile Tools:

Location Title Directions / Call Number
DBS Factiva Select "Companies/Markets," then "Quick Company Search"
DBS Thomson Analytics Enter company name and select from from options under "Overview" tab.
RS Standard & Poor's Corporation Descriptions HG 4501 .S766
RS Hoover's Handbook of American Business HG 4057 .A28617
RS Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies HG 4057 .A28618
RS Hoover's Handbook of World Business HG 4009 .H66
RS Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies HG 4057 .A28616
RS International Directory of Company Histories HD 2721 .I63

2) Find and analyze statistics & financial data.

Quarterly (10Q) and annual (10K) reports are available for most public companies. Annual reports generally include the financial statements of the company and information about the company's line of business, structure, achievements, and goals.

Location Title Directions / Call Number
DBS Thomson Analytics Enter company name and select tabs "Prices," "Financials," "Earnings/Estimates," and "Filings"
DBS Factiva Select "Company/Markets," then "Quick Company Search," then "Financial Snapshot + Profile"
RS Mergent Corporate News Records HG 4961 .M47
RS S&P Corporation Records HG 4501 .S78


3) Use periodical sources to update information you have already found.

Location Title Directions
DBS Factiva Full text of nearly 8000 international business and general publications, including The Wall Street Journal from 1979 to the present. UPDATED DAILY.
DBS ABI/INFORM Article citations and abstracts from over 1800 academic management, marketing, and general business journals; over 800 of these are available in full-text.