Companies & Corporations
Librarian: Shaun Bennett
Jump to:
- Public Companies
- Private Companies
- Non-Profit and B Corporations
- Company Histories & Comparisons
- Market Share
- News & Articles
Public Companies
Public companies are traded freely on a stock exchange.They generally have financial information available, since they must submit reports on their status for shareholders. Start with Hoover’s Company Profiles for a quick search.
- Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage has financial and stock information on public companies. View "Investment Research" in the lower left menu in-depth info of each company.
- Data Axle (formerly ReferenceUSA) has information on individual business units including local small businesses. Data Axle is useful for creating lists of businesses by type. Note the revenue for most business units is based on estimates, not actual data.
- Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) has financial and stock information, a corporate affiliations segment that shows the organizational structure of public companies, and market segments (under "other reports"). Scroll to "Discover Topics (Business)", click on "Company Dossier" to search for companies.
- WRDS has downloadable financial and stock data for analysis, mergers, and acquisitions data.
- ThomasNet is a database of manufacturers, and a place to search for business supply lines.
Private Companies
Private companies are not required to make their information available like public companies. Utilize the company's web site and local/regional news to find company information.
- PrivCo has basic financial, investment, merger, and acquisitions data.
- Private Company Research Reports has reports on a range of private companies around the world. Use the “Search with this publication” box to see if a company has a report.
Non-Profit and B Corporations
- Guidestar Nonprofit Database contains general and financial information on non-profit organizations.
- National Center for Charitable Statistics(NCCS) offers data, statistics, report builder capabilities and more information about non-profit and charitable organizations.
Company Histories & Comparisons
- International Directory of Company Histories only goes up to 2009, but has details on specific companies. Use the “Search Within Series” box on the top right.
- Data Axle’s Historical Businesses module has up-to-date information, but only by location of the business. For example, a Nissan dealership will show a name change for a specific location (Raleigh, NC) not the entire company.
- Business Rankings Annual has direct comparisons by market. Use the “Search Within Series” box in the top right to find specific markets and companies.
Market Share
Market share is the ratio of sales of a company's entire product line when compared to the total sales of similar companies. It also refers to the ratio of sales of a specific product to the total sales of comparable products within a defined area (county, continent, etc.).
- Gale Directory Library Scroll down to find the Market Share Reporter and click on the link. Use the “Search Within Series” box on the top right.
- IBISWorld has industry reports which contain market share information under the “Major Companies” menu on the left side of each report.
- If you can’t find anything in the above, try looking for articles in Business Source Complete and/or ABI/INFORM Collection using the keyword “market share” and the market or company you’re interested in.
News & Articles
Industry, trade, and local news can be useful sources of info on specific companies or entire industries.
- Triangle Business Journal is a local business news source that has access to the Triangle Book of Lists, and other business journals across the U.S.
- ABI/INFORM Collection contains popular articles, trade journals, and blog posts on business & management topics. Be aware that this database contains ads for market reports which can be removed by clicking on the “Exclude Wire Feeds” button on the left side of the search results.
- Business Source Complete has trade journal, newspapers, and academic journals on business & management topics, and SWOT analyses for selected companies under the “Company Profiles” link on the search page.
- NexisUni contains news, but skews towards legal topics. To limit to business topics scroll down and look for the business link.
Search for online and print publications like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, or others through the Journal Titles page.