The United States Department of Commerce uses NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) codes to classify every company and its products into one of 20 broad industry sectors. NAICS codes replaced SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes in 1997, but you may still come across legacy SIC codes in your research. There are several library databases, including Mergent Intellect, that can help you determine the NAICS industry classification for a particular company. The 6-digit NAICS code is helpful when you search for information about your company's industry for benchmark comparisons, ratios, and analyses. Keep in mind that many companies, particularly large conglomerates, operate in multiple industries and therefore list many codes.
First identify the nature of the company. It could be:
From the research perspective, the public company offers the best opportunity to gather information. Public companies must "disclose" meaning they must make available financial data and other information. That means there are fewer barriers to gathering information. Consider that a private company does not divulge its financial statements. Without financials, a SWOT analysis like those in the MarketLine Company Profile Reports (in the database Business Source Premier) could be quite difficult.
To determine a company's status, search the company name in our Mergent Intellect database.
Almost any type of serious company analysis, and especially a SWOT analysis will require obtaining company financials. Keep in mind that for U.S. companies, only a publicly-held parent company will make its financial statements available. If you are researching a private firm or a subsidiary of a public company, you will not find financials for this company. Public companies commonly provide their financials on their company web sites. Many simply provide links to their SEC documents. You can find financials in several library databases, including Mergent Intellect, Gale Business Insights: Global, ValueLine Research Center, Nexis Uni. If you want to obtain the actual SEC documents, go to EDGAR. It makes the search and location of the documents easy, there are readily available segments of the documents available for download and the site is easy to navigate. The most import documents are the 10-K which is a detailed annual report and the 10-Q, the quarterly report that updates the annual report.
If you need financial ratios, look in the library's online subscription databases IBISWorld, Mergent Intellect, and NetAdvantage (S&P). The library also has print versions of several common ratio books, including RMA Annual Statement Studies (338.0973 R642a in the Reference Area - 1st Floor) and the Dun & Bradstreet's Key Business Norms and Ratios (338.50973 D897iL in the Reference Area - 1st Floor).
Explore over 420,000 company profiles with expert analysis such as SWOT reports, financial statements, Refinitiv statistical data, market share, business rankings, case studies, company histories, and articles from academic journals, trade magazines, news outlets and more. Also includes insight into major markets with profiles of the world's countries and territories, and analysis of over 1,000 industries with MarketLine and Plunkett reports, competitive landscapes, and articles.
Dun & Bradstreet
Company, executive, financial, and industry information, with access to private, public U.S, and international data. Includes Key Business Ratios, and demographics and consumer data for marketing.