HINTS
1. Company financial research is easiest when the company meets all of the following criteria:
a. Publicly-Traded (as opposed to private)
b. A Parent Company (as opposed to subsidiary)
c. A Large Company (>$10 million total assets, >500 shareholders)
d. It's an actual Corporate Entity (ie. brand names are sometimes confused with company names eg. Aquafina is a brand, Pepsico is the company that produces it)
Use Hoover's Online to verify criteria a, b, c and d.
2. Occasionally, a company data item may not be readily available in a financial statement or a library source. An eg. might be the debt ratio. This data item can be calculated using Investopedia or Business Ratios and Formulas: A Comprehensive Guide.
3. To find sales data on private companies (as well as information on subsidiary companies and brand names), go to Company FAQs.
Market Capitalization/Value
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowContains full-text business information including trade publications and newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, AP), company reports, and market data. Includes the full-text of the Wall Street Journal.
Earnings
- InvestorEdge This link opens in a new window
IE provides company equity reports for investment research.
- Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect includes information on both public and private U.S. companies, Canadian companies, and international companies. It also contains a residential database, company executive biographies, industry information, and a job search database of U.S. and Canadian employers.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Value Line Library BasicCovers company full-page reports, industry reports and investment analyst commentaries. Specific information include Timeliness and Safety Ranks, Ratings and Reports, Summary and Index, Selection and Opinion and Market-Driven Supplements.
Balance Sheet
assets, liabilities, owners equity, retained earnings, stockholders equity...
- Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect includes information on both public and private U.S. companies, Canadian companies, and international companies. It also contains a residential database, company executive biographies, industry information, and a job search database of U.S. and Canadian employers.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowContains full-text business information including trade publications and newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, AP), company reports, and market data. Includes the full-text of the Wall Street Journal.
Income Statement
revenue, expense, earnings per share (eps), dividends per share, earnings before interest and taxes (ebit)
- Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect includes information on both public and private U.S. companies, Canadian companies, and international companies. It also contains a residential database, company executive biographies, industry information, and a job search database of U.S. and Canadian employers.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowContains full-text business information including trade publications and newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, AP), company reports, and market data. Includes the full-text of the Wall Street Journal.
Ratios
Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys Dunbar Ref Bookcase 3, HC106.6 .S74
- Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect includes information on both public and private U.S. companies, Canadian companies, and international companies. It also contains a residential database, company executive biographies, industry information, and a job search database of U.S. and Canadian employers.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowContains full-text business information including trade publications and newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, AP), company reports, and market data. Includes the full-text of the Wall Street Journal.
Stocks
common, preferred, price, quotes, dividends
- Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect includes information on both public and private U.S. companies, Canadian companies, and international companies. It also contains a residential database, company executive biographies, industry information, and a job search database of U.S. and Canadian employers.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
- Yahoo Financereal time/historical prices
- Factiva This link opens in a new windowContains full-text business information including trade publications and newswires (Dow Jones, Reuters, AP), company reports, and market data. Includes the full-text of the Wall Street Journal.
- Mergent WebReports This link opens in a new window
Search a collection of corporate and industry reports gathered from web-based resources. The archive includes more than 180,000 documents. For easiest use click search in the right margin and type a company name.
- Mergent Archives This link opens in a new window
Search a vast archive of historical corporate documents and reports. The collection includes reports on corporations, countries, and industries.
- Mergent's Dividend Achievershistorical info
Bonds
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Get business and financial information on over 10,000 domestic and foreign public companies. Profiles for each company include business descriptions, EDGAR documents, fundamental data, key financial ratios, earnings estimates, stock information and current headline news. Create custom reports for a company, as well as comparison reports of multiple companies.
long-term debt
- InvestorEdge This link opens in a new window
IE provides company equity reports for investment research.
- Mergent WebReports This link opens in a new window
Search a collection of corporate and industry reports gathered from web-based resources. The archive includes more than 180,000 documents. For easiest use click search in the right margin and type a company name.
Citing Your Sources
Aside from citing articles and books, have you ever wondered how to cite a company annual report or an industry report? The reality is, there is no "official" style for citing business sources. However, it is common practice to use adaptations of one of the following citation styles: the American Psychological Association (APA) Style or the Chicago Style. Whichever style you choose, use it consistently for the entire project/paper.
- APA Style - for Business StudentsThis customized APA citation guide for Wright State business students is loosely based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). The manual is available at the Information Desk on the 2nd floor of the Dunbar Library. See Chapter 10 for more examples.
- Chicago StyleThe Harvard Business School (HBS) Citation Guide uses an adaptation of The Chicago Manual of Style.
