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Researching a Company, Product, Service, or Industry

Researching a Company

Are you researching a company? Do you want to know about their history, competition or fiscal year? If so, try using these resources to help you find information on your chosen company:

  • Use the company's website! Most companies provide the public with plenty of information on their website including: their mission, values, annual reports, and corporate information.
  • Try to find a Company profile using Business Source Complete. ***Remember to limit your search results to company profiles (located on the right hand side of the page). See the video above for more information on searching for company profiles in Business Source Complete. 
  • Try searching for a SWOT analysis of your company. A SWOT analysis measures the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of your organization. To search for a report in Business Source Complete simply use the name of your company and SWOT as keywords.
     

  • Sometimes you will have to try a few different searches to find what you are looking for. The better you know and understand your company or industry, the more luck you may have. If you search for TD Bank, for example, you may not find anything...but, there is a SWOT analysis for TD, it is listed under Toronto-Dominion Bank.

  • If you can't find a company report/profile, try looking for articles! A basic search for your company is the best place to start. Try using any of our recommended databases on the left.
  • Try using Hoover’s Company Records, which provides in-depth records of public and private companies worldwide, and overviews of the key industries in which those companies operate (Available through Lexis-Nexis).
  • Standard & Poor's Corporate Descriptions & Register is another recommended source that provides strategic and financial information on more than 10,000 publicly-held companies (Also available through Lexis-Nexis).

 

How to Find an Annual Report

To find specific information on a company try searching for their annual reports. Annual reports outline a company’s financial situation and provide you with an overall understanding of the company’s year. The first place you should search for an annual report is the company's website itself. However, there are many resources you can consult to find a company's financials:

  • Google - Try a search for your company name AND annual report!
  • Globe Investor - Look up a company to find the latest investing news and analysis, including: Summaries, Charts, Financials, Analyst Ratings, and Competitors.
  • Company Spotlight - Access to current, free annual reports in pdf.
  • SEDAR - System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval - the electronic filing system for the disclosure documents of public companies and mutual funds across Canada. If your company is Canadian and publicly traded, you should find information here. Find your company profile, then click on the "VIEW this Public Company's Documents" link.
  • EDGAR - Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system - database of U.S. corporate information of companies who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).