Skip to Main Content

Company Research

This guide is a collection of resources that will help you with your company research. You can look for ready made profiles or you can compile information from a variety of sources to get a clear picture of your potential competitors, clients or partners.

Required filings

 According to the SEC, here is what public companies are expected to include in their filings.

  • Annual Reports on Form 10-K - This report includes the company’s audited annual financial statements and a discussion of the company’s business results.
  • Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q - The quarterly report includes unaudited financial statements and information about the company’s business and results for the previous three months and for the year to date.
  • Current Reports on Form 8-K -  Filed to announce major events that shareholders should know about, including bankruptcy proceedings, a change in corporate leadership (such as a new director or high-level officer), and preliminary earnings announcements.
  • Proxy Statements - Proxy statements describe the matters to be voted upon and often disclose information on the company’s executive compensation policies and practices.
  • Additional Disclosures - These include proposed mergers, acquisitions and tender offers; securities transactions by company insiders, and beneficial ownership by a person or group that reaches or exceeds five percent of the company’s outstanding shares. 
       Investopedia How to efficiently read an annual report

Key resources for company filings

Public companies annual, quarterly, and current reports can be found in the following databases in our library collection. Below you will also find some strategies you can use to easily find company filings in our databases. 

  • icon of a building = Users listed next to this icon have access on campus. (This will often say ALL indicating all users have access on campus. There are a few exceptions.) 
  • icon of a house = Users listed next to this icon have access off campus.

Mergent Online

Search tips:

  • Go to the Annual Report tab or Filings tab

Nexis Uni

Search tips:

  • SEC filings or Menu – Company dossier – search by name – choose SEC filings from the left menu

Recommended websites

Find reports here:

EDGAR – covers the U.S.

EDGAR full text search

Using EDGAR to Research Investments - This guide by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission describes where you can find certain types of information in common filings by public companies, mutual funds, and ETFs.  To search for other types of forms filed on EDGAR go here.

 

SEDAR – covers Canada

Search for company documents