"Researching Public Companies," recorded April 24, 2025, 4 minutes.

"Company Profiles in Business Source Elite," recorded April 24, 2025, 3 minutes.

A "public company" or "publicly traded company" is a company whose shares are traded on a stock exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ, or the Toronto Stock Exchanges (TSX). Individuals can buy and sell shares in a publicly traded company. Public companies are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commision and must publish annual reports and other financial filings. 

REMINDER: Many brands and companies are actually owned by larger publicly traded companies. For example, Calvin Klein is a subsidiary owned by PVH, a public company.

Ways to research a publicly traded company:

1. Find the company's web site, scroll to the bottom, and look for a link to "Investor Information" or "For Investors" or "Financial Reports".  Look for Annual Reports.
2. Use library tools like Statista and Business Source Elite.
   • COMPANY PROFILES are available in Business Source Elite. Search your company name. in the results list, use the menu for SOURCE TYPE and select "Company Profiles" from the dropdown menu.
3. Search Yahoo Finance or Google Finance where you can track the stock price as well as find news and financial information about the company.

Most sizeable nonprofits make their financial Annual Reports available from their website. 

To find them, you'll need to go beyond the user-facing options (for example, Buy tickets, Plan your Trip, Donate).  A good place to start is with the ABOUT or ABOUT US link.  Then look for terms like "Financial Reports" or "Annual Reports" or "Reports". 

Another option is to search online for "IRS Form 990" and the name of the organization. Form 990 reports financial information for nonprofits.

See this video for advice on finding a nonprofit organization's financial reports:

"Nonprofit Organization Financial Reports," recorded September 2020, 4 minutes.

NON-PROFIT COMPANIES:

• Article: How to Research a Nonprofit: Deep Dive Approach
  From Bridgespan Group, a global nonprofit that advises and collaborates with philanthropists, nonprofits, and NGO leaders.
• GuideStar
  Information about the activities and finances of more than 650,000 not-for-profit organizations. Requires free registration.
• National Council on Nonprofits
  Includes research, reports, and data on nonprofits and the nonprofit sector
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
  Searchable summaries of tax returns from tax-exempt organizations with financial details such as their executive compensation and revenue and expenses. ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit investigative journalism organization.