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 their 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 resources that will help.
About Private Company Research
Unlike public companies, private companies are not regulated by the federal government. Therefore, it is at the discretion of a private company if, and what, they want to disclose about themselves. It can be more difficult and time consuming to locate information about private companies. However, there are methods and resources including:
- Searching for the company and/or their principals in local and trade business publications.
- Researching public competitor companies in the same industry.
Database: Hoover's
- 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.
Hoovers contains company profiles, analyst reports, SWOTs, and market research reports under the NAICS code link..
- Search by Company Name
- Once on the results page, click on the link for your correct company
- Use the left hand menu to select specific pieces of information on that company.
Example of SWOT analysis from Hoovers:
Additional Company Databases
- PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Business and financial data on major, non-publicly traded corporations: family owned, private equity owned, venture backed, and international unlisted companies. Company financials, M&A deals, valuations, venture capital funding, private equity deals, etc.
- 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.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Covers most business areas: management, marketing, economics, finance, accounting, & international business. Includes company reports, SWOT analyses, working papers, country reports, industry reports, case studies, etc.
