There are two types of companies. Public, which trade on stock exchanges and issue stock. Private companies, are the do not trade on a public exchange and are not required to file publicly available financial statements . Determine which type of company you are researching by checking the following sites: If you find a ticker symbol, the company is publicly traded.
Back to topThese are companies which do not trade on stock exchanges. It is often difficult to find very much information on these companies, other than a brief directory listing, estimated net sales, and sometimes news articles which can be found using a search in various regional newspapers, trade publications and newswires (though usually only larger companies utilize this type of service). One can also search Secretary of State Corporate Records for additional information.
S.E.C. Documents & Annual Reports Annual reports are issued by publicly traded companies, but are not required by the S.E.C. (Securities and Exchange Commission). The official "annual financial statements" are located in what is known as Form 10-K which does not contain the glossy pictures and graphs that the Annual Report does. Many times if you look at the corporate website, the Investor Relations department has put the annual report and other documents up for your perusal.Back to topBack to topThe online catalog will help you identify a variety of print and non-print materials that will be useful to your research. You can search by specific authors or titles or you can do keyword and subject searching. Some specific subjects you can use to begin your search are below. You might also search under the company name as either a subject or author.
Back to topAvailable via the IC library home page using the "Electronic Research & Reference" link. Individual journal articles and papers are not listed in the library catalog and searching for relevant articles can be time consuming. Use databases which search for journal articles, conference proceedings, papers and book reviews. The IC Library does not own all the journals indexed in databases, for assistance identifying where a specific journal may be indexed and/or available in full text call the Reference Desk (274-3890) or go to Serials Solutions.
Back to topBelow are resources to help find both current and historical stock prices.
Back to topBelow are resources to help find analyst reports on both companies and industries.NewswiresBelow are resources to help find wire service news on both companies and industries.
Back to topAuthor:
James Bondra
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