Research Guides: Operations Management: Company Information

Find a Ticker Symbol

A company will have a ticker symbol if it is publicly traded on one of the world's stock indexes. Knowing the ticker symbol for a given company is helpful in finding the most precise information and data.

You can look up ticker symbols on Yahoo! Finance. Simply type the name of the company into the search box next to "Get Quotes." If your company is not listed, check the spelling. If it is still not listed, then it is most likely not a public company.

Yahoo! Finance
Look up ticker symbols.

SWOT Analysis

To find a Marketline Report SWOT (stengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of a company, use Business Source Complete:

Use the Advanced Search boxes. In the top search box - type company name. Second search box type SWOT.
Now, look in the results list. Select the most current year.
If the results did not find the company you are researching - check the company name. Did you spell it correctly? Is this an abbreviation of the company name? You need to find out the full name of the company and try the search again.

Each report has a table of contents which will direct you to the page number of the SWOT analysis.

Business Source Complete (via Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text for company profiles and SWOT analysis.

Best Best Company Research Resources

The following databases can get you started on company research:

Business Source Complete (via Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
All disciplines of business are included--marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full text, non-journal content includes financial data, eBooks, monographs, major reference works, book digests, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, Company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. .
Help Guide
D&B Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Annual company reports, ratio data, executive information, analyst reports, SWOT analyses, credit ratings and recent developments. Also includes, industry reports. Help Guide
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Both U.S. public and international public-equivalent companies are represented. Provides details on items from SEC filings such as business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt and capital stock. Financial statements are presented in "as-reported" form and in native currencies. Search by company name or ticker symbol. For search help, see: http://www.mergentonline.com/Help/BasicSearchMain.html
Statista This link opens in a new window
Find statistics, consumer survey results, and industry studies from over 22,500 sources on over 60,000 topics in 600 industries from 50+ countries. Help Video

Company Research Tips

Before searching for information about a company, it is helpful to know the answers to these questions:

Is the company public or private?
Is the company headquartered in the United States or abroad?
Is the company a parent or subsidiary?

This information can usually be found on a company's web site, which can be located doing a quick Google search.

Remember - you can always ask a librarian if you are having any trouble finding what you need.