Lesson 1-2: Basic U.S. Company Information: Competitive Intelligence Searching Using DialogWeb

Basic U.S. Company Information

Step 1:

Answer the following questions to determine which database to use and how to create your search strategy.

Is the company public or private?

What is (are) its location(s)?

Is the location inside or outside the U.S.?

What are the company's products and services?

What is the size of the company (e.g., number of employees? amount of sales?)

Reviewing this information will help you conduct a more organized, comprehensive, cost-effective search.

Determining whether the company is public or private will influence which databases you use and how much information you will retrieve.

Click the Learn More icon for more information about public, private, and non-U.S. companies.

Key Sources
Click the Key Sources icon to see a table of key databases that contain factual data about companies.

1-2

Learn More #1: Information about public, private, and non-U.S. companies

Public Companies:
There are over 13,000 public companies in the United States. These are the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, and Over the Counter. They are required by law to file financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hence, there is substantial information available on these corporations.

Private Companies:
The shares of private or closely held companies are not traded on any exchange or through the U.S. NASDAQ. Most private companies are not required to report publicly even basic information, such as annual revenue or number of employees; thus, data collected on the company is often limited. The ultimate source of private company information is always the company itself. Private company information is gathered through surveys, credit reports, and company press releases. To ensure accurate size and performance figures for private companies, you should obtain information from more than one source.

Non-U.S. Companies:
Many countries base filing requirements on assets, not on whether or not the company issues stock. Dialog has a substantial number of databases that focus on international corporations.

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