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.