Analyzing Industries and Companies: Finding Company Financials
Reports and Statements
Some major types of reports filed with the SEC:
- 10 K Reports - Annual reports
- 10 Q Reports - Quarterly reports
- Proxy Statements - Issued to stockholders prior to important votes and often includes ownership and executive salary information.
Companies usually post annual reports on their websites. Search sites for terms like "About," "Investor Relations," and "SEC Filings."
These reports and more can be found using the following tools:
- Index to Forms for Corporate Filings (SEC)Includes a table listing SEC forms alphabetically by name and describing their purpose.
- EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval)Open access database from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All companies, foreign and domestic, are required to file registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this information for free.
- Nexis Uni (Business)Includes articles, company information, SEC reports, accounting literature, and directories.
Private Companies
Since private companies are not required to file reports with the SEC, inforamtion is not always available on these companies.
One strategy is to see what a company will provide you directly. Some private companies do produce annual reports and sometimes post them on company websites. Keep in mind that there are no regulations or guidelines on this information. It is provided for promotional reasons as a courtesy by the company.
Another strategy is simply to look up articles about the company. Sometimes these will include financial information and more general information that can help you evaluate a company.
The following resources can help you find what information is available:
- Business Source CompleteIncludes searchable cited references, author profiles for the most-cited authors in the database, and over 10,000 full text sources including academic journals, industry profiles, trade publications, etc. Available via EBSCOhost.
- Nexis Uni (Business)Includes articles, company information, SEC reports, accounting literature, and directories.
Print Resources
- Value Line Investment SurveyCall Number: HG4501 .V26Ask at the Circulation Desk
A stock analysis newsletter, Value Line Investment Survey includes stock measures, earnings rations, dividends, and more. It covers approximately 1,700 individual stocks and approximately 100 industries and includes historical data that will allow users to spot trends.
Historic Annual Reports
- Annual Reports at Academic Business LibrariesGood resource for finding older annual reports of companies. This is a finding aid and will not retrieve the actual annual reports for you.