Companies and Organizations

Overview

• There are three main types of resources to find company information:
  • Company information databases - arranged at Purdue in terms of Get Started or Pro Tips for specialized uses.
  • Business news and articles provide key contexts about companies, their competitors, markets, and more.
  • Company websites and their official social media are generally useful but beware of spin.
• It is much easier to find information about public companies -- listed on stock exchanges -- than private companies.
  • Public companies are required to disclose detailed financial information to the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).
    • 10-K forms are filed annually: audited financial statements, company background, stock performance, and more.
    • 10-Q forms are filed quarterly: unaudited financials statements, an ongoing look at a company's financial position.
    • 8-K forms are filed to announce events relevant to shareholders, for example, a change in CEO.
    • Annual reports are a glitzier version of 10-K forms found on company websites.
  • Private companies do not sell stock to the general public.
    • Their stockholders are usually founders, members of their families, key employees, or a small number of private investors.
    • They have few regulatory disclosure requirements and hesitate to share knowledge that could help competitors.
    • They file limited documents with the IRS and state government agencies.
  • See this video for an overview of differences between public and private companies.
  • See this article for more details about private company disclosure requirements.
• If you have difficulty finding a company or stock information, check the facts about a corporation's structure, subsidiaries, and brands.
  • Example: Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. but the stock ticker is GOOG.
  • Example: KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are subsidiaries of Yum! Brands - the stock ticker is YUM. 

Pro Tips

• See the Companies - Pro Tips guide covering how to find:
  • Analyst reports
  • Boards and executives
  • Credit ratings
  • Earnings call transcripts
  • Equity pricing
  • ESG scores
  • Filings
  • Financials -- details, ratios, competitors
  • Mergers and acquisitions data
  • Private equity and venture capital data 
  • Subsidiaries and corporate trees
  • Supply chains 
  • SWOT analyses