Research Guides: Marketing: Companies

SEC Annual Form 10-K filing or similar government filing - Provides information on operations, marketing and organization.
Annual Report to Stockholders, including President's Letter - May provide information about marketing efforts and corporate strategy.
CEO Interviews, conference calls & press releases - Provides updates on strategy.
Articles about the company & its operations

When searching company websites, look for "Corporate" or "Investor Relations" links to access the most recent year/s annual reports and SEC filings.

Resources

EDGAR
Search the EDGAR database by company name or ticker symbol to access a complete list of files submitted by a company to the SEC. (See A Guide for Investors for tips on searching the EDGAR database.)

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Search for your company by name NAISC, or SIC code to access a company profile. 10-K's and 10-Q's are listed under the "Filings" tab. Also, access company profiles including company details/history, subsidiaries, financials, business segments, equity pricing, ratios competitors, and news stories.

Business Source Premier with BSI [EBSCO] This link opens in a new window
Select "Company Profiles" on the top bar for full MarketLine profiles containing history & SWOT analyses of public & private, US and international companies.
First Research This link opens in a new window
Mergent database containing industry reports on over 900 business sectors in the U.S. and Canada. Industry profiles include quarterly industry updates, forecasts, benchmarks, news, and industry challenges, trends and opportunities. Also contains brief up-to-date employment and economic data for states and countries.

Vault.com
Vault writes about industries and professions and their top companies, many of which are private companies. Industries covered include accounting, law, investment management, and real estate. Free resource.
Hoover's Company Records
Hoover's profiles are particularly helpful for private and small companies with overview and history that provide insights into strategy.
ProQuest Annual Reports
Browse by company name or industry for historical annual reports.

Search your company,product or industry and combine with terms, such as:
Pepsico and (market* or advertis*)
AND automobiles and hispanic*

*retrieves market, markets, marketing, marketed, etc.

Business Source Premier [EBSCO] This link opens in a new window
Search for articles on corporate culture, organizational behavior, organizational structure, officers, responsibility, sustainable practices, etc.
ABI/INFORM Collection [PROQUEST] This link opens in a new window
Core database for business research, contains full-text articles from scholarly journals and industry magazines, plus profiles of industries, companies, and markets.
Wall Street Journal [PROQUEST] This link opens in a new window
Find articles on current events and issues with companies and industries.

Global Reporting Initiative
The Global Reporting Initiative has helped to set standards for corporate reporting on sustainable issues and now maintains a database of corporate reports. A link to the full pdf report is at the bottom of the reports record.
CorporateRegister
Register for free access to corporate non-financial reports, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, environmental and social reports.
Sustainability Reports
Current corporate reports listed by country and sector.