Research Guides: Brewing Industry: Company Info

Tip

When searching for information on a particular company, first determine if it is either public or private.

To find out if a company is public or private check the resources listed to the right, many of which will indicate if a company is one or the other. If it's a private company finding information on it can be difficult.

What is a Company Profile?

A company profile introduces a business's mission, goals, vision, and history.

Main Information

Address/Locations
News
Executive names
Current revenue/sales figure and number of employees
Lines of Business—what the company does
Industry or Industries in which it operates
Competitors

Optional Information

Background/History
Complete financial statements, current and historical
Executive profiles
In addition, most of the company profile databases offer the capability of creating lists of companies, based on criteria such as location, size, and industry.

In the News

Factiva This link opens in a new window
Provides a collection of more than 9,000 authoritative business sources, including the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Dow Jones and Reuters newswires and the Associated Press, as well as Reuters Fundamentals, and D&B and Bureau van Dijk company profiles. To search in a specific journal or newspaper use 'More Search Options' next to the search box.

Finding Articles

Business Insights: Essentials This link opens in a new window
Access to lengthy industry reports authored by independent experts in their fields. Coverage of: E-Commerce/Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Human Resources, Energy, and Telecommunications. Each report includes: case studies; quantitative analysis; interviews with industry executives; discussion of strategic, and more.

EDGAR (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Full-text SEC filings, including 10-k's, from the Securities and Exchange Commission home page.

Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly U.S. Businesses Database) This link opens in a new window
A directory of 12 million businesses and 120 million households.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Business Source Premier supplies access to thousands of regional, national, and international scholarly business journals, business periodicals, and industry publications, on topics such as management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and much more. There is full text coverage for a high percentage of the titles. Includes embedded full page images for many of the full text journals. Also has country economic reports from the Economist Intelligence Unit, WEFA, CountryWatch and the Icon Group.

SWOT Analysis Video

SWOT Analysis

SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

From a business perspective, the SWOT analysis identifies and assesses:

The business unit's strengths and weaknesses including its source of competitive advantage.
The primary opportunities and threats in the market and industry

The justified SWOT matrix is a foundational element of the Marketing Plan and it leads to a plan's Goals and Objectives.

Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Click on Company Profiles at the top of the page and search for a specific company. Click on the company name in the list of results and the click on SWOT Analyses on the left.

Business Insights: Essentials This link opens in a new window
Presents full text profiles, including histories, chronologies, civil claims, financial data and rankings, of US and international firms; articles from business journals, newsletters, and the business sections in newspapers; selected investment reports from Investext; industry overviews; and industry trade associations. Formerly called Business and Company Resource Center.