Where can you find information on a company's major segments, strengths and weaknesses, operations & supply chain, merchandising and pricing, marketing strategy and more?
If you cannot find reports there, use sources on Where to Find Reports? on the tab above.
Where can you find key company reports & SEC filings?
At the company's web site via Google!
Tips:
If not on the company web site, check the following sites for reports:
Find company, market news, downloadable 5-year financials, S&P analysts reports & Industry Surveys, Argus Industry Reviews and SEC filings. Create charts and link to calculations and data sources.
Visit our Capital IQ (S&P) Guide for more details
Why Review SEC Filings and the Annual Report?
Companies must file regular reports with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to sell shares on major stock exchanges. These reports include detailed descriptive information on products, organization, distribution and risk factors ,as well as financial statements.
A company's annual report to stockholders is often a public relations or marketing tool. A key portion is the President's Letter that will highlight major events and strategies. Many companies now append their annual SEC filing to the letter to form the annual report.
SEC's EDGAR database may also have financials for private company in the early stages of filing with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO).
Besides the President's Letter, key SEC filings to review are:
- 10K annual form for operations insight (business description & management discussion) as well as financials.
Alternately:
- S-1 initial registration filing for IPOs & new registrants
- 20-F reports for non-US companies
- Canadian company filings are often referred to as SEDAR, the Canadian equivalent of EDGAR.
- 10Q - latest quarter SEC filing
But warning! The sources above are crafted by the company. For alternate points of view, see steps 3 and 4.
Private companies do not have publicly reveal information about their operations, although they may have to file basic annual reports with their state governments. Credit reports may be available for many companies while larger companies may be profiled.
Check the sources below for possible profiles of larger companies, such as Mars or Uber, and credit reports on a wide range of companies.
Find company, market news, downloadable 5-year financials, S&P analysts reports & Industry Surveys, Argus Industry Reviews and SEC filings. Create charts and link to calculations and data sources.
Visit our Capital IQ (S&P) Guide for more details
Hoover's profiles are particularly helpful for private and small companies with overview and history that provide insights into strategy. Click Link to Fulltext for full record!
Next Steps:
Step 3 - Understand your industry
Step 4 - Dig deeper for articles in trade journals, local and national newspapers and more.
Nonprofit organizations must file with the IRS and their state agencies for tax exempt status.
Check with the IRS site and/or GuideStar/Candid to confirm stats. And use the Candid Form 990 finder to locate recent IRS Form 990 tax forms filed annually by charities with over $25,000 in revenues.
Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau evaluate larger non-profits.
Next Steps:
Step 3 - Understand your nonprofit's industry.
Step 4 - Dig deeper for articles in trade journals, local and national newspapers and more.