These resources are ideal starting points when you are trying to find a quick snapshot of a company. When you need extensive detail on a company, they provide the basic background upon which you can build your research.

These resources generally contain basic facts, usually including:

• Address and phone number
• Annual sales and number of employees
• Chief executives
• Year founded
• Type of business.

• A narrative description
• Brief history
• Key financial data
• The company's position in its industry.

If you are having trouble finding a company, you may want to use the resources and tips on the Address and Phone Books page to try to verify the company's name.

Also refer to regional directories and specialized industry directories if appropriate.

Research databases* and print resources that will provide company profiles:

(*Please note: research databases are for current students, staff, and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. If you are at an off-campus computer, you must log in here to be able to use these licensed resources.)

Academic (Lexis-Nexis): Provides a list of executives, company financials, list of related brands, recent company news, and company descriptions from Hoover's Company Records. By selecting the "Business" section of this database, you can search by company name.

 

Business and Company Resource Center: Provides business, company, and industry content in articles, company financials, investment reports, rankings, market share data, industry overviews etc.

 

Business Source Premier: Business Source Premier consists of popular business magazines, scholarly journals, and trade publications and offers coverage of accounting, banking, finance, international business, management, marketing, real estate, regional studies, sales, trade and technology topics. It also has a separated search option for company profiles. Datamonitor reports (company profiles) and SWOT analyses are available as well.

Mergent Online: Mergent Online provides business and financial information for 23,000 U.S. and international public companies. Fact sheets (updated quarterly) giving a company overview, ratios, and prospects are available for 2,000 U.S. companies. (replacing Moody's Company Data - U.S. and Moody's International Company Data)

Where to find Annual Reports:

Although not truly "profiles", Annual Reports to Shareholders provide the same information and usually much more. They are an excellent starting point for researching public companies. (Check directories below to determine if a particular company is public or private.) See Sources for Corporate Financial Data for additional discussion of annual reports.

 

Mergent Online: Current annual reports, as well as those dating back to 1997 are available for public companies.

Thomson Research (formerly: Global Access). Current Annual Reports are available here.  

Academic (Lexis-Nexis). Annual reports (minus the graphics) are available in the "Business" section of this database.

 

HILLMAN LIBRARY - A historical collection of annual reports is available on microfiche in the Microforms Department, Ground Floor.

 

Many public companies include annual reports, or portions of the reports, on their websites. Look for an "investor relations" link on a company's site, and this will usually direct you to the annual report.

Print resources that will provide company profiles:

D & B Million Dollar Directory: America's Leading Public & Private Companies: Profiles on 160,000 leading private and public U.S. companies. To be included, a company must be a headquarters or single location. In addition, the business must meet one of three inclusion requirements: 180+ employees at that location, or $9 million+ in sales volume, or tangible net worth greater than $500K.
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HC102 D897)

Ward's Business Directory of US Private & Public Companies: Profiles on 90,000 companies.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HG4009 W373)
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4009 W373)

Hoover's Handbook of American Business: Provides excellent two page profiles of companies, but is selective on which companies are covered. The 2004 edition includes 750 companies.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28617)
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28617)

 

Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies: Provides extensive information on private companies, but is selective on which companies are covered. The 2004 edition contains 300 profiles and 750 capsules.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28616)
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28616)

Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies: 2003 edition features profiles on 600 of America's most dynamic growth firms. This book focuses on companies with revenues between $10 million and $1 billion that have experienced sales growth of at least 20 percent annually in the past three years.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28618)
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A28618)

Directory of Corporate Affiliations
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A219 )
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4057 A219)

Mergent / Moody's Manuals: Multi-volume set containing a financial summary as well as corporate description and history. Public Companies only.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference
HILLMAN LIBRARY - Reference (HG4961 M67) Mergent Online (formerly FIS Online) contains selected manuals.

Standard & Poor's Corporation Records: Multi-volume set providing background and financial information. Daily News section keeps entries up to date. Public Companies only.
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference
HILLMAN LIBRARY - (HF5805 S7) Latest edition shelved on Hillman index #14

Advertising Red Books (formerly Standard Directory of Advertisers): Provides basic facts plus information on a company's advertising policies and expenditures. (Not to be confused with Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies.)
BUSINESS LIBRARY - Reference (HF5805 S7)