LibGuides: MGT 315: Company Profiles & Legal News

Overview of Company Information

Public vs Private Companies

It is easier to find information about public companies (those that sell stock to shareholders) than about private companies (those that are privately owned by an individual or a group). When looking for information about a company, consider both information from the company itself (e.g. the company website, SEC filings, press releases) as well as information about the company written by others (e.g. newspaper articles, articles by professors).

Finding information about a company includes the following steps:

Get an overview of the company, find out if it is private or public

Find the company website and review it carefully--especially the sections for investors or media/press

PUBLIC: find relevant 10K and 10Q reports and annual reports to shareholders
PUBLIC: Search for analyst and brokerage reports; these sometimes contain a SWOT analysis
PRIVATE: Search for news, magazine and other periodical articles for information.
Identify competitors

Legal News

Search for news about the company from the following databases:

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business, and legal sources from LexisNexis (including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790).
Vendor: LexisNexis
Coverage: Varies
Access: Subscription via proxy
Terms of Use: Licensed for purposes of research, teaching and private study. Users may print or electronically save a single copy of limited portions. Systematic downloading, redistribution to non-subscribers, and any commercial use expressly prohibited.
Concurrent Users: Unlimited
ABI/INFORM Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers worldwide business periodicals for in-depth coverage of business and economic conditions, management techniques, theory, and practice of business, advertising, marketing, economics, industry news, product and competitive information, human resources, finance, taxation, and computers. Also includes local and regional business news coverage of large corporations, privately held companies, local start-ups, executive profiles, marketing, finance, and industry news.
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: Varies
Access: Subscription via proxy
Terms of Use: Licensed for purposes of research, teaching and private study. Users may print or electronically save a single copy of limited portions. Systematic downloading, redistribution to non-subscribers, and any commercial use expressly prohibited.
Concurrent Users: Unlimited
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition) This link opens in a new window
Accesses full-text of the WSJ from 1984 to present.
Vendor: ProQuest
Coverage: 1984-Current
Access: Subscription via proxy
Terms of Use: Licensed for purposes of research, teaching and private study. Users may print or electronically save a single copy of limited portions. Systematic downloading, redistribution to non-subscribers, and any commercial use expressly prohibited.
Concurrent Users: Unlimited

Library Databases for Profiles

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business, and legal sources from LexisNexis (including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790).
Vendor: LexisNexis
Coverage: Varies
Access: Subscription via proxy
Terms of Use: Licensed for purposes of research, teaching and private study. Users may print or electronically save a single copy of limited portions. Systematic downloading, redistribution to non-subscribers, and any commercial use expressly prohibited.
Concurrent Users: Unlimited

From the main search page, be sure to choose Company Information. Use the drop-down menu to look for company profiles; analyst reports, mergers and acquisitions; or SEC filings.

Find Financials, Subsidiaries, Products, Executives, Industry and More in the middle of the screen

Locate related information such as SWOT Analysis, Country Reports, Market Research Reports and More on the left side of the screen