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Corporate Reports

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About Corporate Reports

Annual reports to shareholders and reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are a rich source of information about the finances, management, and strategy of publicly-traded companies.

Nonprofit organizations as well as some private companies (such as cooperatives and insurance companies) also issue annual reports. This guide is intended to help you find these reports more efficiently.

To learn more about the various types of corporate reports, check out the Descriptions of SEC Forms (PDF) from the Securities & Exchange Commission.

SEC Filings Online

Many types of current corporate reports are available via the Web. The US Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR database is just one place to find company filings.

EDGAR
Find company filings, submitted electronically to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system from 1993 to the present.

Edgar-Scan (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
PricewaterhouseCoopers has a handy interface for retrieving EDGAR filings.

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis) UWW access only
Choose Business, then SEC Filings & Reports. Select report type and dates from the menus and search by company name.

SEDAR (Canadian Securities Administrators)
The Canadian Securities Administrators is the regulatory body for securities in Canada. Search the SEDAR database to find the filings of Canadian public companies and mutual funds.

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Company Annual Reports to Shareholders

Annual Report Service
The Public Register's Annual Report Service offers links to thousands of annual reports on company Web sites. They will also send paper copy annual reports to requesters. Free registration is required.

CAROLWorld (Citigate Online)
The Company Annual Reports On Line (CAROL) site has free annual reports for all companies on the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse in addition to many other companies in Australia, Europe and the United States. Free registration is required.

OnlineAnnualReports.com
This site offers the latest three to four years of annual reports in PDF or HTML format for hundreds of U.S. public companies and is searchable by company name, ticker, exchange or industry.

LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis) UWW access only
Choose Business, then SEC Filings & Reports. Select SEC Annual Report to Shareholders and dates from the menus and search by company name. These reports are in a text format that will not include photographs, charts or graphics that may have appeared in the original reports.

Nonprofit Organization Reports

GuideStar (Philanthropic Research, Inc.)

Charity Navigator
This nonprofit organization provides ratings on the financial health of charitable organizations to give donors a way to assess the effectiveness of the charity. The site evaluates 3,500 organizations and gives each one an overall rating along with financial statement data and a comparison to similar organizations.

990 Search (The Foundation Center)
Use this site to find tax returns for nonprofits (IRS Form 990) and foundations (IRS Form 990-PF). Search by organization name, state, zip code or EIN (employer identification number).

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Incorporation Records

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.

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

Initial Public Offering (IPO) Web Sites

IPO Central (Hoover's Online)
Search IPOs by company name or ticker, underwriter name, industry group, state or metropolitan area.

Company & Organization Web Sites

Company and nonprofit organization Web sites often include annual reports as well as other useful financial and management information. Once you find the company home page, look for a section called company information, about the company or investor relations. Otherwise, try searching the home page for the phrase annual report.

To locate company Web sites, use your favorite search engine or try online company directories that link to company Web sites:

Stock Exchanges also have links to company Web sites:

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