Research Guides: Business Administration Resource Guide: Company Research

Tips for Researching Individual Companies

Finding information about private companies is notoriously difficult since they are not required to submit information to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Information about company scale (revenue and employee count) in most databases/sources is often an estimate based on an algorithm which may or may not be close to the truth. Therefore, researchers must use multiple sources to build a profile of a private company.

The best sources of information about private and family held companies are subscription databases such as Pitchbook, SourceScrub, and Grata. However, if a researcher does not have access to a subscription database, they can find much of the same information through other resources that offer free access, such as the ones listed below.

The best place to start research on a private company is on their own website. Often they will include indications of scale (number of locations, square footage of facilities, etc.) and information about the management team. A good researcher will always verify management contact information through at least two sources, because websites are not always updated in a timely manner after a CEO leaves or dies.
State Secretaries or other state websites can provide limited information about companies. Please note that some have more information than others and some are paywalled. Use a search engine and keywords such as state name and "business entity search" or "secretary of state". Be careful because there are malicious and commercial sites, such as "secstates.com" that resemble the actual state secretary of state sites.

Industry Classification Codes

Industry classification codes are used by governments to organize and analyze data about companies and industries. They are also used by databases and other business resources to organize and facilitate the retrieval of data and other information about various industries and individual companies.

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
A business classification system used by the Canadian, US, and Mexican governments that allows for the comparison of business activity statistics across North America.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
The four digit numerical codes that are used by the US government to group companies by industry so that economic activity across industries and government agencies can be classified and analyzed. Companies are required to use these codes for specific filings with the government.
Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)
GICS is an industry classification developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International and Stanley & Poors. It is used by investors, economists, and analysts to compare publicly traded companies.

Resources for Finding Information about Individual Companies that Do Not Require a Subscription

Library of Congress - Doing Company Research: A Resource Guide
A guide to researching companies including separate sections devoted to private and public companies.
LinkedIn
A business-oriented social networking service. The employee range in company profiles on Linkedin is one of the best sources of information on a private company's size because it is self reported by the company. However, researchers must be aware the sometimes companies neglect to update this information.
RocketReach
RocketReach provides lead intelligence for businesses (contact information for company executives). It offers a free account which allows 5 lookups per month (includes emails but not telephone numbers)
OpenCorporates
OpenCorporates is a searchable web portal that provides access to information about legal entities (businesses of all types) from over 140 jurisdictions worldwide. The standard search package is free.
Manta Business Directory
A free searchable directory of local and small businesses through out the world. The company profiles include: website, address, phone number, contact name, founding date, and number of employees.
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
While not a comprehensive business directory, the BBB can often provide contact information and give a researcher an idea of the state of a company.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo offers B2B lead generation with 104M+ company profiles, 321M+ contact profiles, 300+ company attributes. Free access is available through its ZoomInfo Lite (https://www.zoominfo.com/faqs/business/community-edition)
EDGAR-U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Provides "free public access to millions of informational documents filed by publicly traded companies and others in the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system."--website.
Thomasnet
A North American industrial sourcing and marketing platform. In addition to company profiles, it provides industry insights. The company offers free accounts and can be used to research 500,000+ manufacturing companies and the companies that supply them.