Keeping an eye on the competition? Researching a prospective employer?
Getting the inside scoop on a company isn't as hard as you'd think.
Start with the Obvious
Start with the most obvious resource, a company's Web site.
Many companies offer press releases, product information, organizational
charts and demographic data from their sites.
If you have difficulty locating a company's site, try a business directory.
Hoover's Online and
Companies Online
are great launchpads for company facts and figures. For
basic contact information, try SuperPages.com or
Big Yellow.
Public or Private?
Is the company public or private? Publicly-held companies (those
that sell stock to the general public) are required to disclose financial
information to their shareholders and to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). Their annual reports provide a great synopsis of performance over
the last year. From the Public Register's
Annual Report Service, you can request a copy of more than 3,600 public
companies' annual reports free of charge.
What's In the News...
Business Wire and PR
Newswire are two of the best resources for keeping track of company news.
Both allow you to search by keyword
or industry. For general business news, try magazines like Fortune and Business Week. Local newspapers can also provide
valuable information. To track down a paper, consult the directories listed at LibrarySpot.com Newspapers.
More Great Tools:
- How to Find U.S. Company Information
The New York Public Library points out online and offline resources that will aid your search.
- Researching Companies on the Internet
Debbie Flanagan helps visitors leverage the Web to find high-level company information.
- Vault.com
Search the vault for candid profiles of companies and careers. (Get the scoop on corporate culture and more).
- Web 100.
Browse the 100 largest corporations on the Web.
- Business.com
Business search engine with 25,000+ categories.
- BizWeb
A guide to more than 43,000 companies in 192 categories.
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