Understanding a Company
To better understand a company, its performance in the market and the factors that affect it, you need to understand the whole picture of that universe. This includes :
- Company’s financials
- Products and services
- SWOT reports (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
- Industry pressures and challenges
- Competitors
- Analyst reports
While you should certainly look at the company’s website, note that will only help you gain insight into that company's opinion about itself. For other opinions about a company’s issues and performance, there are several types of library databases that will help. They are generally divided up by the type of information they contain although there are some exceptions such as Hoover's, which gathers several different types of information by company name.
Using the company stock symbol helps you find consistent company analysis from resource to resource by making sure you are comparing the same company, and not any subsidiaries.
Company Databases: Remote Access
- Hoovers This link opens in a new windowDetails on US and international companies, executives, market research reports, and trade publications. Includes financials, subsidiaries, and trade and business news.
- FactSet This link opens in a new window
FactSet is a financial platform that provides comprehensive data and analytics on global financial markets, economic measures, and companies. Any current Vanderbilt student, faculty or staff member can access FactSet for academic and non-commercial use. First-time users must register for a personal account using their Vanderbilt.edu email address, which can take up to 7 days to be processed. For faster access, FactSet is available on the computers in the Walker Management Library- no personal account needed.
- Refinitiv Workspace This link opens in a new window
Source of financial and economic data, news, and information. Provides access to analyst reports and select SDC data from the M&A section. Users must register for a personal account, which will be reset each semester. It is available to authorized users from Vanderbilt University for non-commercial, academic research. View, download, and printing limit for analyst reports and pdf documents of 150 pages per day, reset daily at midnight local time. Download limits for SDC data of 199 rows of excel data per day. Download limits for other types of data may apply.
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Corporate financial histories (including capital changes) and operational histories for international public companies. Customizable reports on companies.
- Calcbench This link opens in a new window
Conduct financial statement analysis, financial accounting and auditing using SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) XBRL data. Analyze financial data for public companies with an interactive data platform. Understand competitor financials, identify potential risks to firms, analyze trends across industry sectors.
- Gale Business: Insights This link opens in a new window
Company chronologies, company histories, journals, market research reports, market share reports, rankings, recent news, SWOT reports, videos, industry information. Comparison chart tool.
Company Databases: On-Campus Access Only
- Bloomberg This link opens in a new windowReal-time and historical information on economic conditions, market data and public companies worldwide along with governments, mortgages, money markets, bonds, commodities, stocks, and currencies.Users must come into the Managerial Studies office to use this resource. 1 user at a time per Bloomberg terminal. Online tutorials are available on the terminals.
Walker Management Library
Owen Graduate School of Management
401 21st. Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203
Supporting Bloomberg Materials
- Bloomberg: Getting Started Guide For Students30+ page guide provided by Bloomberg covering: the Bloomberg terminal, functions and securities, navigation, performing analysis, exporting data and getting help.
- Bloomberg Takeaway4 page booklet to help you navigate the Bloomberg terminal like a pro. Covers: creating a new login, home page basics, shortcut keys, and most used Bloomberg functions.
