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Research Guides

Company Research

What to Look For

The following factors should be considered in a complete analysis of a given company:

  • Market Share / Competitive Position
  • Capitalization / Financial Strength
  • Leadership / People Strength
  • Litigation
  • Technology Environment / Utilization
  • Products / Product Innovation
  • Intellectual Property
  • Alliances / Joint Ventures
  • Supply Chain Strength / Complexity
  • Marketing Channels
  • Corporate Image / Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Global Positioning
  • Industry Factors

Financial Information

Financial data provides a key measure of the strength, stability, and soundness of a company. Disclosure requirements make it possible to find copious amounts of financial data for publicly-traded companies. Be aware that, if you are researching a private company, financial data is usually not available.

Best Bets

Additional Resources

Bloomberg Terminals

The Bloomberg Terminals has real-time and historic data on publicly traded companies from around the world. It contains company profiles, analyst recommendations, relative valuation, and earnings and estimates.  

Note: Bloomberg Terminals can only be accessed via the Terminals on the first floor of Business Library and Collaboration Commons. Ask the Help Desk to log you in to the computer. New users will need to create an individual account to access the Bloomberg interface. Bloomberg is a command-line interface, and is not as user-friendly as some of the resources at the top of this list. First-time users are encouraged to contact a business librarian to learn more about Bloomberg.