Company Research

Begin your search by finding out if the company is privately held, publicly held, or a subsidiary or a division. If the company is publicly held, you will find much free information, because publicly held companies by law must keep their shareholders and the business world informed of their financial position. Public companies must publish an annual report for their shareholders and file a 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Check out the 10-K form at the Securities and Exchange Commission website, http://www.sec.gov

If your company is privately held, a subsidiary or a division, you may find very little information. The good researcher will continue to scout out additional resources such as directories, regional newspapers, or magazines. Subsidiaries and divisions of companies can have both publicly held or privately held patents. Sometimes the only way to research a subsidiary or division is to research the parent company. For information on researching companies online visit http://www.learnwebskills.com. This site will allow you to become a proficient company business researcher.

More Company Web Research Links

Forbes Lists
—Access Business-related Lists

Glassdoor.com
—Gives you an inside look at company reviews, interview questions, & salary information for thousands of companies.

GuideStar
—Profiles of over 850,000 non-profit organizations

Hoover's Company Capsules
—Short descriptions of companies with links to news, finance, etc.

Kompass
—Directory of 1.7 million companies from 70 companies

MacRae's Business Directory
—Searchable Directory of over 3 million U.S. companies.

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
—Directory of American manufacturers searchable by product, service, brand, or company name

Zap Data
—Profiles over 12 million companies and names of marketing prospects that match criteria