LibGuides: Business & Management: Private Companies

Is it a Public or Private Business?

Yahoo! Finance
Type the name of your business in the Yahoo! Finance search bar. Public businesses will appear with its NYSE/NASDAQ stock symbol, while private business will either be listed as PRIVATE or the search will return no result.

A public business is owned by shareholders and its shares are traded on the stock market, while a private business is owned by individuals or a small group of investors and is not publicly traded. Public businesses are required to file quarterly reports known as 10-Q reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), providing detailed financial information, operational updates, and management discussions about their performance and prospects.

Data Sources for Businesses

Data Axle Reference Solutions This link opens in a new window
Reliable information on millions of U.S. businesses. Excellent resource for marketing research, competitive analysis, fundraising and job searches.

Additional Information:

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Access to risk ratings, credit information, company financials, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries and company leadership.

Additional Information:

PrivCo This link opens in a new window
Private company financial data, private market deals, and private investor profiles. Covers over 200,000 U.S. and international privately-held companies.

Use Academic Databases for Case Studies and SWOT Analyses

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window With premium full-text content and peer-reviewed business journals, this database is an essential tool for business students. It covers all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance and more.
ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new window The most comprehensive ProQuest business database, this comprises ABI/INFORM Global, ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry, ABI/INFORM Dateline, ProQuest Account and Tax, Banking Information Source, ProQuest Asian Business and Reference, ProQuest Business and ProQuest Entrepreneurship. The database features thousands of full-text journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, country-and industry-focused reports, and downloadable data. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world.

Locating Case Studies in Academic Databases

Business Source Complete: in the opening search screen (the "advanced search") type in the business name in the search bar, scroll down to publication type and select case study. Click on the green search button, above.

Proquest One Business: search for the company names as a "subject" (not a keyword) and limit by (click on) case study under document type below the search bars. Click on the green search button above to execute the search.

Harvard Business Review
This link directs you to the case studies published in the Harvard Business Review. Click on modify search to add specific terms for what you are looking for.

Locating SWOT Analyses in Academic Databases

Business Source Complete: in the opening search screen (the "advanced search") type in the business name in the search bar, scroll down to publication type and select SWOT analysis. Click on the green search button, above.

Proquest One Business: search for the company names as a "subject" (not a keyword) and limit by (click on) company SWOT under report containing below the search bars. Click on the green search button above to execute the search.