How Do I Find Company Reports or Profiles?

• Find company reports in management databases |
• Find articles about companies |
• Find information about private companies |
• Find legal information about a company

Some reports are single documents written by a research firm like the Datamonitor reports available in Business Source Complete. Others, like the profiles in Mint Global, NetAdvantage, and LexisNexis have a set of resources with links to multiple documents and data sources. Both Mint Global and LexisNexis allow you to download financial reports and other financial information about a company.

Company reports are also called profiles or overviews. SWOT analyses are a type of company report.

Keep in mind:
You are more likely to find company reports about public rather than private companies. However, LexisNexis and NetAdvantage do cover private companies and you may find SWOT analyses about large private companies in Business Source Complete.

Find Company Reports in Management Databases

Search the Mint Global database:

1. Click on Companies
2. Enter the company name, then click on Search
3. Click on the company name in the results

Tip: Look in the GUO Name column to choose the Global Ultimate Owner (parent company) for the company instead of subsidiaries.

Search the Business Source Complete database: Show Me

1. Enter your company name in the first search box, and click Search
2. Look in the right-hand sidebar for the Company Information and Company Profile sections.
3. Click the document(s) below these sections for relevant company reports

Search the NetAdvantage database:

1. From the Publication Search menu, search for a Company Profile by ticker or by company name using the drop down menus and text box provided.
2. Use the menu on the left side of your results screen to access company history, vital statistics, stock reports, industry surveys and more.

Tip: Use the NetAdvantage industry profiles to learn how to analyze a company in the context of a specific industry. Just click on the How to analyze link at the top of any industry survey to find out more.

Search the LexisNexis Academic database:

1. Look for the "Get Company Info" box
2. Enter the company name or ticker, and click on Search
3. Click on the company name to open the profile 

Search the Passport (GMID) database:

1. In the search box at the upper-right corner, enter the company name and press Enter
2. From left navigation panel, under Filter Results, scroll down to "By Analysis" and click "Company Profiles"

         OR

1. Hover your mouse over Industries in the top menu
2. Select your industry
3. Find local or global company profiles as follows:
   • For local company profile (by country): Under Analysis Finder, select "Company Profiles" from the first drop-down menu and select Country from the second drop-down menu.
   • For global profile (not available for all industries): Under Analysis Finder, select "Global Company Profile" from the first drop-down menu and "World" from the second drop-down menu.
   • To view profiles for the industry’s top companies, see View Top Companies. Select the name of a company from the first drop-down menu and select the appropriate category from the second drop-down menu

Search the company’s website:
Publicly traded companies often provide access to financial reports, company histories, and links to current news releases. Look for the About Us or Investor Relations link on the website, often located at the bottom of the page, to access this information.

Find Articles About Companies

Keep in mind:
When you find articles about your company in most article databases, you will find the linked company name below the abstract in the article record. Click on that link to retrieve all the articles in that database about the company.

Suggested article databases:

            Business Source Complete
Abstracts and full text articles from scholarly and popular business, law, and computer systems periodicals.

            ABI/Inform Trade and Industry
Full text articles from business magazines and newsletters with a trade or industry focus. Includes industry news, product and competitive information, and marketing trends.

            Lexis/Nexis Academic
Full text documents from over 5,600 publications including newspapers, magazines, and wire services. Search U.S. federal and state case law, legal news, law reviews, and international legal information on a variety of topics.

• You can also search TV and Radio transcripts, Blogs, and Web Publications. Click on the “I” next to the options to see the sources included.

Find collections of articles in LexisNexis company profiles:

1. Look for the "Get Company Info" box.
2. Enter the company name or ticker, and click on Search.
3. Click on the company name to open the profile.
4. Under In The News on the left side, click on one of the following links:
   1. Top Publication: Major Newspapers, Magazines, Transcripts, Legal Publications
   2. Topic: Business Activity, Corporate Structure, Legal, Marketing and Product
   3. Region: United States, Canada, Central and South America, European, Middle East and Africa

Find collections of articles and press releases in NetAdvantage company profiles:

1. From the Publication Search menu, search for a Company Profile by ticker or by company name using the drop down menus and text box provided.
2. Use the Company Profile menu on the left side, click on News or Industry News

Find Information About Private Companies

Keep in mind:
Start by examining the company website then work on verifying information found there. Try these three techniques first.

1. Check LexisNexis and NetAdvantage for company profiles.
2. Check Business Source Complete for a SWOT analysis.
3. Search for articles about the company in the recommended article databases, especially Business Source Complete because it also searches Regional Business News.

Then try one or more of the following techniques:

Search newspaper databases or search local newspapers online:

• ProQuest Newspapers
• The Internet Public Library

Look for the company on popular lists:

• Forbes Lists – Largest Private Companies
• Entrepreneur.com – Franchise 500
• Inc.com – The 5,000 fastest growing private companies. Also click on Top 100 Lists by Metro Region or Industry

Contact local associations:

• Better Business Bureau
• World Wide Chamber of Commerce Guide

Find Legal Information About a Specific Company

1. Look for the "Get Company Info" box.
2. Enter the company name or ticker, and click on Search.
3. Click on the company name to open the profile.
4. Click on Legal Information in the left navigation.
5. Click on one of the following searches:
   1. Recent United States Cases
   2. Recent Canada Cases
   3. Recent UK Cases
   4. Recent Commonwealth & Irish Cases
   5. Martindale-Hubbell Corporate Counsel
   6. Martindale-Hubbell Outside Counsel

Search the LexisNexis Academic database for law reviews:

1. Look for the "Look Up a Legal Case" box.
2. Enter the company name under "by Topic".
3. Click on Search.

Search the LexisNexis Academic database for Intellectual Property Information:

1. Look for the "Get Company Info" box.
2. Enter the company name or ticker, and click on Search.
3. Click on the company name to open the profile.
4. Click on Intellectual Property Information in the left navigation.
5. Click on one of the following searches:
   1. Patents
   2. Trademarks
   3. Copyrights

Look in the company’s 10K filing to find legal information:

Public companies in the U.S. are required to report on current lawsuits and/or criminal charges involving their business. Find 10K filings in any of the following locations:

• SEC Website
• The company’s website (usually only the current year)