Private Companies
A private company is a company wholly owned by an individual/family or a group of investors. A private company does not sell shares of stock and is not required to disclose any information about the company to either the government or the public. Doing research on a private company requires a little digging and a little luck. Any information located should be considered suspect until it has been verified in a second source. Look for entries in databases that provide private company data and for articles about the companies in article databases.
Databases with private company entries:
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowA scholarly business database providing bibliographic and full text content. Business Source Complete provides full text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. Business Source Complete contains indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886, searchable cited references for many journals, and detailed author profiles for the most-cited authors in the database.
- LexisNexis Academic see Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowMergent Online is a suite of global business and financial information products, including U.S. and international company data and annual reports.
Provides access to all detailed company information, such as institutional holdings, insider transactions, more financial years displayed for detailed perspective on a company's financial position, and colour images in the U.S. and International Annual Reports module. - Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowIncludes access to over 5,600 news, business, legal, medical and reference publications (most full-text, the rest abstracted), primarily newspapers, magazines and journals. Covers local, regional and international newspapers (in English and non-English languages). Includes broadcast transcripts, case law, legal codes, regulations, Shepard's Citations to Supreme Court cases (back to 1789), company financial information, and SEC filings and reports.
Public Companies
A public company is a company owned by stock shareholders. A public company has a duty to its shareholders to release information about the financial state of the company. Additionally, public companies file annual reports with their shareholders and report financial data to the Securities and Exchange Commission (a branch of the federal government). This data is made available to the public to view. Locating information on public companies is easier because they must file reports. Many databases and government web sites provide access to public company data.
Selected databases to locate public company entries:
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new windowA scholarly business database providing bibliographic and full text content. Business Source Complete provides full text journals in all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, books, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. Business Source Complete contains indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886, searchable cited references for many journals, and detailed author profiles for the most-cited authors in the database.
- LexisNexis Academic see Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new windowMergent Online is a suite of global business and financial information products, including U.S. and international company data and annual reports.
Provides access to all detailed company information, such as institutional holdings, insider transactions, more financial years displayed for detailed perspective on a company's financial position, and colour images in the U.S. and International Annual Reports module. - Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowIncludes access to over 5,600 news, business, legal, medical and reference publications (most full-text, the rest abstracted), primarily newspapers, magazines and journals. Covers local, regional and international newspapers (in English and non-English languages). Includes broadcast transcripts, case law, legal codes, regulations, Shepard's Citations to Supreme Court cases (back to 1789), company financial information, and SEC filings and reports.
- ValueLine Investment Survey This link opens in a new windowA multidimensional investment management resource that enables both new and experienced investors to make timely, better-informed decisions. It provides a wealth of in-depth financial information, plus objective research, commentary, price projections, and analytical tools.
Library Director
Ritter Library
Baldwin Wallace University
57 E. Bagley Rd
Berea, OH 44017-2027