University Library > Guides > Corporations

Sources of Business Information

2. Companies

Table of Contents:

Company Directories
Advertising Expenditures
Annual Reports, SEC Filings & Financials
Brands & Products
Company Profiles & Histories

Competitors
Earnings Estimates
News & Articles
Organizational Charts
Stock & Bond Information - current & historical

Company Directories

Information on many companies may be found in the University Library Catalog by searching for companies or brand names as keywords or subjects.

US & International | State & Regional | Corporate Families (subsidiaries)
Specific Industries | Nonprofit | Executives - Bios & Compensation

U.S. & International Directories

Advertising Redbooks (National Register Publishing)
Search by brand name or company name. Serves as a directory of major U.S. and international companies (large advertisers) as well as a directory of advertising agencies. Provides basic company information such as web page address, SIC codes, sales figures, advertising expenditures, year founded, key personnel and a list of company brands.

Associations Unlimited (Gale Group)
Includes 456,000 international, U.S., regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields. Also includes entries for thousands of other nonprofit organizations taken from IRS information. Search by keyword, subject, type of organization, geographic location, and many other criteria.

American Manufacturers Directory Ref HD 9723 .U27 (Reference Desk)
Lists 170,000 U.S. manufacturers alphabetically, by city, and by SIC code. Includes credit ratings. The CD-ROM allows searching by industry, geography and size.

Brands and their Companies Ref T 223 .V4 A25
A listing of 362,000 brand names linked to the 80,000 companies that manufacture or distribute them.

Business Filings Databases (LLRX.com)
Link to business filings databases for most U.S. states, provided by Secretary of State offices (or equivalent). Find incorporation information and brief annual reports for public and private corporations. Although you won't find lots of financial data for private companies, this can be a great way to find information on small, privately-held companies.

Corporate Affiliations (LexisNexis Group)
Search for 174,000 parents companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and divisions by company name, sales ranges, number of employees, brand names, industry and geographic location. All domestic and foreign subsidiaries are included.

Corporate ResourceNet (EBSCOhost)
Choose Company Profiles button and search by company name to find 20 page profiles of major U.S. and international companies.

D&B Directory of Service Companies Ref HD 9981.3 .D86
Contains information on 50,000 companies in the service sector. Businesses with SIC codes 70-81, 83, 87, and 89 are included. The majority of companies included here are not listed in the Million Dollar Directory.

D&B Million Dollar Directory Ref HC 102 .D8
The largest 160,000 public and private U.S. companies by location and type of business.

D&B Principal International Businesses. Ref HF 54 .U5 P74
Lists 50,000 of the world's largest companies, arranged by geography, by product classification and alphabetically.

Europages: The European Business Directory (Euredit SA)
Search for information on 500,000 companies in 33 European countries.

Hoover Company Records (ProQuest)
Hoover's Company Records contain information on more than 40,000 public and private companies, 225,000 key executives. Search by company name, people, location or keyword. Find a company profile, history, people, products, subsidiaries & affiliates, competitors and financials.

Kompass.com
Addresses and phone numbers of 1.8 million companies in more than 75 countries. Search for companies name, industry, country.

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis)
Check out the Company Information section of the LexisNexis Business Search Tips guide for searching for company profiles.

Morningstar Library Edition (Morningstar) restricted to 2 users at a time
Morningstar contains reports on more than 8,000 stocks and 12,000 mutual funds, Analyst Reports on 1,000 stocks and 2,000 mutual funds and Morningstar ratings for stocks and funds. Morningstar contains both stock and fund screeners and a portfolio X-ray tool that helps you look for strengths and weaknesses in a portfolio.

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage (Standard & Poor's)
Brief summaries of common stocks along with some preferred and convertible preferred stocks. Also includes some closed-end funds. Covers dividends, financial position, capitalization and earnings per share. Click on the Companies button, select "Company Profile" from the drop-down menu and search by ticker or company/fund name. The "Stock Reports" and "Bond Reports" give more detailed information on companies and the "Industry Surveys" provide in-depth analysis of 52 U.S. industries.

Switchboard.com
Online yellow pages for millions of U.S. companies. Search for companies by industry, city and state.

Thomas Global Register (Thomas Publishing Company)
Directory of American suppliers and exporters. Search by product/service or by company name.

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers (Thomas Publishing Company)
Includes more than 175,000 manufacturers. Search by product, brand name, company, location or keyword.

Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies Ref HG 4057 .W374x
More than 114,000 public and private companies indexed by zip code, SIC code, and sales volume. Vol. 5 has national rankings of companies by sales within SIC codes. Vols. 6 and 7 have state rankings of companies by sales within SIC codes. Vol. 8 has state rankings of companies by sales within NAICS codes.

Global Yellow Pages (GlobalNet Services)
This site lists dozens of business, export and manufacturing directories for countries, regions or the world.

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Directories: State and Regional

Wisconsin Business-to-Business Sales & Marketing Directory Ref HF 5065 .W6 W57
246,000 businesses listings taken from phone book yellow pages.

Wisconsin Business Services Directory Ref HD 9981.7 .W6 W57, current year at Reference Desk
Directory of service firms with data on officers, employees, subsidiaries, type of business. Indexed by city, service, and SIC code.

Wisconsin Corporations: Businesses and NonProfits (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Find incorporation records and charter documents for thousands of Wisconsin corporations (1848-1993).

Wisconsin Manufacturers Directory Ref TS 24 .W6 W7 (Reference Desk)
Includes companies in Wisconsin with operations in other states and foreign countries and vice versa. Indexed by city, product, and SIC code.

Wisconsin Manufacturers Register Ref HD 9727 .W6 W58 (Reference Desk)
Lists sales, officers, employees, products, and subsidiaries.

Illinois Manufacturers Directory Ref T 12 .W5

Illinois Services Directory Ref HC 107 .I3 I62

Michigan Manufacturers Directory Ref HD 9723 .D43

Minnesota Manufacturers Register Ref HD 9727 .M6 M57

North Central Tri-State Regional Industrial Buying Guide Ref HD 9727 .I3 N67
Manufacturers and suppliers in eastern Wisconsin, northeast Illinois, and northwest Indiana.

Directories: Corporate Families

America's Corporate Families and International Affiliates. Ref HG 4057 .A14x
Vol. 1: 12,000 U.S. parent companies and 75,000 subsidiaries, divisions and major branches. Vol. 2: Indexes by company name, geography, and SIC code. Vol. 3: U.S. parents with foreign subsidiaries and vice versa.

Corporate Affiliations (LexisNexis Group)
This resource provides instant insight into more than 174,000 parents companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and divisions - all the way down to the seventh level of reporting relationships. All domestic and foreign subsidiaries are included.

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Directories: Specific Industries

To find company directories, search for subject terms that name the company's industry, e.g., banking, brewing, insurance. The list of sources below includes only some of the most popular directories and databases.

Advertising Redbooks (National Register Publishing)
login - restricted to 1 user at a time
Combines the Standard Directory of Advertisers and Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies into one searchable interface.

American Book Trade Directory Ref Z 475 .A5
Includes all types of companies in the U.S. book trade including book retailers, wholesalers, appraisers, auctioneers, exports, importers, and associations.

Best's Key Rating Guide: Property - Casualty Ref HG 9765 .B4
Ratings and financial condition of over 2450 insurers.

Best's Key Rating Guide: Life - Health Ref HG 8945 .B483
Policies and payment histories of insurers.

Beverage Marketing Directory Ref HD 9348 .U5 N35
Comprehensive directory of U.S. and Canadian companies involved in alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage marketing.

Beverage World ... Databank Ref HD 9348.U5 B48
In addition to industry reports and statistics, includes directory listings of beer importers, breweries, bottled water companies, contract packers, trade associations (U.S., state and international), franchisers, manufacturer's reps, wineries, and top bottlers.

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook Ref HE 8689 .B77, current edition at Reference Desk
A directory and handbook of the cable, television, radio, satellite, and programming services industries that lists individual companies, and provides market sizes.

Directory of United States Exporters Ref HF3011 .D63
Lists exporters alphabetically within states. Also has product index and SIC code alphabetical and numerical indexes. Includes a number of helpful "how-to" export chapters.

Fairchild's Retail Stores Financial Directory Ref HG 4961 .F3
Includes some income statement, balance sheet and segment data as well as financial ratios and basic directory information (including subsidiaries and brands).

Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media Ref Z 6951 .A97 (Reference Desk)
Lists 54,000 newspapers, magazines, journals, and radio, television, cable stations and cable systems arranged by state and city. Includes advertising rates and size of markets.

Literary Market Place: LMP Ref PN 161 .L5
Directory of companies involved in the book trade including publishers, editorial services and agents, advertising and marketing services, book manufacturing, sales, distribution, services and supplies.

Plunkett's Infotech Industry Almanac Ref HD 9696.C63 U5287
Profiles of the InfoTech 500 companies: the top U.S. firms in the information technology industry. This includes manufacturers of products and components as well as companies that provide services, consulting or distribution of data, voice, and video.

Thomson Bank Directory Ref HG2441 .R3
This set has separate volumes for U.S. banks and foreign banks. Arranged by state and city or country and city, find detailed information on banks along with ranked lists of banks in various categories.

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Directories: Nonprofit Organizations

American Library Directory Ref Desk Z731 .A53
Includes public, academic, government and special libraries in the U.S. and Canada as well as library networks, consortia, systems, library schools, and more. The directory is arranged by state and city and there are alphabetical and personnel indices.

Foundation Directory Ref AS911.A2 F65
This directory of the 10,000 largest U.S. foundations is arranged alphabetically within states. Includes indexes by donors/officers/trustees, geography, subject, types of support and name.

GuideStar (Philanthropic Research, Inc.)
This site functions as a directory of nonprofit organizations that is searchable by name, geographic location, type of organization, and income range. From the directory you can link to each organization's IRS Form 990 (income tax return). Other features of the site require a subscription.

Paterson's American Education Ref L901. P3
A directory of U.S. middle schools and high schools, arranged by state, city and then school district. Includes private and parochial high schools.

Wisconsin Corporations: Businesses and NonProfits (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Find incorporation records and charter documents for thousands of Wisconsin corporations (1848-1993).

World of Learning Ref AS2 .W6
As the name implies, this is a worldwide directory of colleges and universities, libraries, research institutes and museums. The directory is arranged by country and within the United States, by state. Includes names of faculty member, list the size of library collections and provides basic information on the institution and its major divisions and departments. Includes an alphabetical index of institutions.

Directories: Executives - Biographical Information & Executive Compensation

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis)
Executive Compensation: Choose Business > Company Financial Reports to search for a publicly traded company and find executive compensation.
Biographical Information: For officers/directors of publicly traded companies, chose Business > SEC Filings & Reports. Select the source "SEC Filings - Proxy Statements." Search by company name or by ticker symbol. To search by a person's name, try a search like this: gates w/2 bill (this will find the words "bill" and "gates" within 2 words of one another).
Biographical Information: Choose Reference > Biographical Information – this section of LexisNexis is not limited to business.

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage (Standard & Poor's)
Includes biographical information on officers and directors. Use the Publications menu and select "Register Executives."

Biographies Plus (WilsonWeb) restricted to 1 user at a time
Contains almost 40,000 full text biographies of notable people including nationally and internationally known businesspeople.

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Advertising Expenditures

Advertising Redbooks (National Register Publishing) restricted to 1 user at a time
Search by brand name or company name. Serves as a directory of major U.S. and international companies (large advertisers) as well as a directory of advertising agencies. Provides basic company information such as web page address, SIC codes, sales figures, advertising expenditures, year founded, key personnel and a list of company brands.

Annual Reports, SEC Filings & Financials

Compact D/SEC CD-ROM on Workstation S4 in reference alcove
Ten years of financial statement data and ratios for companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges.

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis)
Check out the Company Information section of the LexisNexis Business Search Tips guide to find out how to obtain company financial reports and SEC filings.

Mergent Bond Record Ref HG 4905 .M78, current 2 months at Reference Desk
A history of a year's bond rating activity is published in Mergent Annual Bond Record, Ref HG 4905 .M77 (earlier years were called Moody's Annual Bond Record).

Mergent's Handbook of Common Stocks Ref HG 4905 .M815, current issues at Reference Desk
One page descriptions of more than 900 companies. Each listing includes a 10 year summary of financials and outlines the company's recent developments and prospects.

Corporate Reports (University Library Selected Resources on the Internet)
Use this guide to identify additional resources for finding company annual reports and SEC filings.

Brands & Products

Brands and Their Companies Ref. T223 .V4 A25
If you know a brand name but don't know what company produces the product, this source is for you. Includes a listing of the companies with their addresses.

Company Profiles & Company Histories

Hoover's Company Records (ProQuest)
Find company descriptions, financials and top competitors. Search by company name, keyword, geographic location or person's name.

International Directory of Company Histories Ref HD 2721 .I63
Two to three page narratives outline the history and key developments of more than 5,000 of the world's most influential companies.

Investment Companies Yearbook Ref HG 4497 .W47
Performance reports on mutual funds and investment companies.

Mergent Bank and Finance Manual, Ref HG 4961 .M65
Mergent Industrial Manual, Ref HG 4961 .M67
Mergent Municipal and Government Manual, Ref HG 4931 .M58
Mergent OTC Industrial Manual, Ref HG 4961 .M7237
Mergent Public Utility Manual, Ref HG 4961 .M7245
Mergent Transportation Manual, Ref HG 4971 .M74
Offers company histories in addition to financial data. Covers U.S. and foreign companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. Ask for the Mergent Complete Corporate Index to these manuals at the Reference Desk.

Value Line Investment Survey (Value Line)
Search by company name to find a brief profile and financial analysis. Part 1. Summary and index.-- Part 2. Selection and opinion.-- Part 3. Ratings and reports.

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Competitors, Market Share & Rankings

Note: Searching the Company Directories listed at the top of this page is another way to screen for competitors based on industry. Searching the News & Articles databases below is another way to locate market share and rankings information.

Hoover's Company Records (ProQuest)
Hoover's Company Records contain information on more than 40,000 public and private companies, 225,000 key executives. Search by company name, people, location or keyword. Find a company profile, history, people, products, subsidiaries & affiliates, competitors and financials.

Business Rankings Annual Ref HG4061 .B87 2002
Find "top 10" rankings of companies by industry, geography and many different criteria. Rankings are drawn from periodicals, newspapers, financial services, directories and statistical annuals.

Mergent Industry Review Ref HG 4501 .M665x, latest two years kept at Reference Desk
Brief comparative statistics and rankings of companies within 137 industry groups as well as operating ratios for 6,000 companies.

Market Share Reporter Ref Desk HF5410 .M35
Find U.S. and global market share data for product types, companies and brands. The information is gathered from periodicals, newspapers and trade journals. Use the product, company name, and brand name indexes in the back to find the appropriate tables.

TableBase (RDS) restricted to 2 users at a time
TableBase is a database comprised of tables drawn from the more than 1000 sources including business and trade journals, statistical annuals, brokerage reports, trade association reports, and governmental reports. Search by keywords or company names. Use the "Concept Term" menu to limit the search to market share or market size.

Earnings Estimates

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis)
Earning Estimates: Select Business > Company Financial Reports — type in the company name and select Stock Reports from the Source menu. From the list of results, select Nelson's Consensus Earnings Estimates to find recent analyst EPS estimates and a summary of analyst buy, sell, hold recommendations.

News & Articles

The following resources are restricted to UW-W students, faculty and staff.

ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest: 1971- )
Indexes more than 1,300 business publications including 600 journals with full text from 1992 to present.

Business & Industry (FirstSearch: 1994- )
Contains important facts, figures and key events dealing with public and private companies, industries, products and markets for all manufacturing and service industries at an international level. B&I focuses on a body of literature that includes leading trade magazines, newsletters, the general business press and international business dailies. LIMITED SEARCHING: The Library is charged per search for this database. Please contact B. Bren (brenb@uww.edu or 262-472-5521) before beginning large research projects requiring many searches.

Business Dateline (FirstSearch: 1985- )
The prime place to search for regional business news in the U.S. and Canada. Includes searchable fulltext articles from more than 500 North American regional business tabloids, magazines, daily newspapers, and news wire services. This database covers regional business activities and trends with particular emphasis on economic conditions in selected cities, states, or regions, as well as mergers, acquisitions, company executives, new products, and competitive intelligence. LIMITED SEARCHING: The Library is charged per search for this database. Please contact B. Bren (brenb@uww.edu or 262-472-5521) before beginning large research projects requiring many searches.

Business Full Text (WilsonWeb: 1982- )
Indexes and abstracts articles from more than 345 English-language periodicals published in the United States and elsewhere, including the leading business magazines and trade and research journals, plus the partial/full text of over 160 of those periodicals. Partial/full text coverage begins in January 1995.

Business Source Elite (EBSCOhost)
Provides comprehensive access to abstracts and indexing for over 1500 titles, plus searchable full text for more than 750 business periodicals.

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis)
Choose "News" or choose "Business," then "Business News" to find full text articles from business and industry journals, magazines, newspapers and newswires.

ProQuest Newspapers (ProQuest)
Full text articles and citations from more than 500 U.S. and foreign newspapers including Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Madison Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal, and Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Tablebase (RDS) restricted to 1 user at a time.
TableBase is a database comprised of tables providing information such as: market share, market size, capacity, production, imports, exports, sales, product and brand rankings, forecasts, healthcare statistics and demographics. Tables are drawn from the more than 1000 sources that go into the Business & Industry database and from statistical annuals, brokerage reports, trade association reports, and governmental reports.

Organizational Charts

Organization Charts: Structures of 230 Businesses, Government Agencies, and Non-profit Organizations. Ref HD58.65 .O74 2000
Find organization charts for 230 companies, nonprofits and government agencies worldwide.

Stock & Bond Information - Current & Historical

See the University Library Security Analysis guide for stock & bond prices, stock analysis and bond analysis sources.

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