Library Guides: Business Administration: Company/Industry Data

Finding Company Information

Company information can sometimes be found on public websites using a search engine like Google. The Library also subscribes to databases that provide company information. Listed here are some options.

Always keep bias in mind. Who's providing this information and what's their objective?

Also look under "Websites" on this guide for useful websites.

Company Website

Most companies post information about themselves on their website. Use your favourite search engine to find a company website.

When you find their website, look for a link to information "About the company". Since most sites are designed to sell something, look past that. The link may be small or hidden.

Example: Canada Goose. Go to the bottom of the page, click on "Investor Relations. See the financial information available there.

Annual reports, data, contact information, and company histories are examples of factual information you may find.

This factual data is usually reliable and up-to-date because companies want to share accurate information with shareholders and customers.
The interpretation of the facts will generally be presented in a favourable light, however.

Databases for Company/Industry Information

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Includes citations and full text content to more than 1200 of the most important business journals. Non-journal content includes financial data, books, 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 videos from the Harvard Faculty Seminar Series.

This database provides company profiles, including SWOT analysis, industry profiles, and market research reports. You can also find articles in journals, newspapers and trade publications.

Depending on how you search, you'll get different options.

Watch the video or read the instructions below for guidance on navigating Business Source Complete:

Option 1: Search for your Company

When you get the results, use the filters on the side to limit to specific types of documents:
- SWOT Analyses
- Trade Publications
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Academic Journals
Also look for more links under "Company Information"

Screen capture:

screenshot of a search for Canadian Tire in Business Source Complete

Option 2: Company Profiles

Many companies have professionally-prepared company profiles which can be downloaded as a .pdf file.

Before entering a search, click on "Company Profiles".
Then search for your company.

Screenshot:

Screenshot of the search for company profiles.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Full text access to news, business, and legal resources.

On the homepage of Nexis Uni, scroll down to the "Business" section, and click.

Screenshot of Nexis Uni homepage

Click on "Find a Company"

screenshot of Company page

Enter the name of the company and click "Search".

screenshot

Find your company and click to see a report.

Use the menu to jump to specific sections: Brands, Competitors, Executives, Financials, Filings.

screenshot of the beginning of a company report

Canadian Business and Current Affairs Database (CBCA) This link opens in a new window
Indexes over 1,665 titles in current events, business, science, the arts, and academic information as produced in Canada.
Combines high-quality indexing with direct access to over 500 full text periodicals and daily news sources, over 95% Canadian. Includes journals, magazines and newspapers, both scholarly and popular titles.

Search

Use the "Company" search to search for company information with options to limit.

To do this, you must be searching ONLY the CBCA database, not a combination of databases. Because this option is not available for other ProQuest databases.
Under "More search options", enter the name of the company in the "Company/organization"search box.
You can click on "Look up Companies/organizations" if you want help finding the correct name.
Click "Search".

Here's a screen capture of the search screen:

screen capture of a company search in the ProQuest CBCA database

Results

Your initial results screen shows everything it finds about that company.

Use the limiters in the left menu to reduce the results according to your need. Options include source type, date, publication title, subject, location, person, and claddification.
Or, you can search within the results you have.

Click on the title of an item to see more information, or select one of the full text options to get straight to the text.

"Full text" takes you directly to the full text available through another ProQuest database - that's usually the quickest.
"Getit! Trent" takes you to our database of full text journals and links you to documents that ProQuest doesn't know we have. It's a few extra steps, but it finds more.

See the screen shot of the top of the results screen:

screen capture of the results screen in CBCA

Canadian Industry Statistics
From Industry Canada, Canadian Industry Statistics (CIS) analyses industry data on many economic indicators using the most recent data from Statistics Canada. CIS looks at industry trends and financial information, such as GDP, Labour Productivity, Manufacturing and Trade data.
BDC
We are BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the only financial institution devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. We help create and develop strong Canadian businesses through financing, advisory services and capital, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Key Small Business Statistics
Key Small Business Statistics provides statistical data on the business sector in Canada, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Conference Board of Canada
Independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada focusing on economic trends, public policy issues, and organizational performance. Some documents are available for free ($0 in the price), but others are only available by subscription or individual purchase; the Trent Library doesn't provide these documents.

SEDAR This link opens in a new window
Public securities documents filed by issuers with Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.
The statutory objective in making public this filed information is to enhance investor awareness of the business and affairs of issuers and to promote confidence in the transparent operation of capital markets in Canada.

The article "How to Use Canada's CEDAR", by Justin Kuepper is a helpful introduction to using SEDAR.

EDGAR (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) This link opens in a new window

The SEC's EDGAR database provides free public access to corporate information, allowing you to quickly research a company’s financial information and operations by reviewing registration statements, prospectuses and periodic reports filed on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. You also can find information about recent corporate events reported on Form 8-K but that a company does not have to disclose to investors.

See the guide: Researching Public Companies Through EDGAR: A Guide for Investors for more information.

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
Online access to OECD books, reports, annuals, working papers, loose-leaf binders, periodicals and databases. Many, but not all, are available for free. The Trent Library does not cover the cost to purchase documents.

Watch the video below to learn how to find statistics and other resources in the OECD iLibrary:

Hoovers
From Dunn & Bradstreet, this site claims to provide "the most complete business intelligence on companies, industries, and the people who lead them". Unfortunately, much of it is only available at a cost or by subscription. Trent does not have an institutional subscription.

You'll find limited information from Hoovers on their site, but pretty quickly you'll be asked to pay for further information.