Hospitality Resources: Company Research

Company research is the process of finding information to answer key questions about a company or organization. Company research is important for:

Here are some of the questions that you may need to answer about a company or business entity.

• Is the business privately held or publicly traded, or part of a franchise operation? Is it partially or completely owned by another company?
• Is it a local, regional, national, or international business? Where is it located?
• How is the business organized? What is its structure? Who are its leaders?
• What services or products does the business provide?
• Who are its customers? Other stakeholders?
• Into what industry sector does it fit? Who are its competitors, and what is its market share?
• What size is the business? What is the volume and/or value of its sales? How many employees does it have? How many locations?
• How much money does the business make? What are its profits, debts and liabilities, assets, income? How does this compare to the rest of the industry sector?
• If it is publicly traded, what is the price of stock shares, and what is the trend of that price?
• What is the history of the business, and what is its current condition?
• What are its mission and goals? What information is available about its business strategy? How does it market its products and services?
• What problems or challenges is it currently facing, or has it recently faced? What successes or innovations?
• Who are its employees? How are they recruited and trained? What qualifications are required? How are they treated and compensated?
• What is the reputation of the business?
• How does it respond to social responsibilities?

When you are researching a company, one of the first things you need to know is whether its stock is publicly traded on an American stock exchange. If the company is publicly traded in the U.S., it is required to file public documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C.) and to make reports to stockholders. This means that there is a wealth of information available about the company, though it may not always be easy to find in the form you would like. To track stock prices or retrieve financial reports from the SEC, you will need to know the company's Ticker symbol.

If a company is a subsidiary of a larger public company, the parent company will usually be the entity that files public reports, so it is frequently more difficult to find detailed information about the subsidiary.

Privately held companies do not trade their stock publicly, and are not required to file reports with the SEC. Usually, the information available about pivate companies is much more limited.

Companies that do business internationally and are not traded on a U.S. exchange are not required to file reports with the SEC. Reporting requirements differ from country to country, as does the accessibility of data. Facility with the language of the country would be a requirement for tracking down financial statements for companies traded outside the U.S.

Website search

One of the first steps to getting information about a company is to look for its web site. Not every company will have a web site of its own, but increasingly, even very small businesses find it useful to have an online presence. Search Google or any other web search engine for the name of the company. For small businesses, it may be necessary to include information about the location and/or type of business.

If the company's web site targets consumers or the general public, look for sections labeled "About Us," or directed at investors. For branches, subsidiaries or brand-name sites, look for a link to the parent company.

Web sites of moderate-to-large sized companies will often have extensive information available, and may include links to annual reports and other financial reports.

These free online sources provide access to profiles and descriptions of many major companies.

Articles are an important source of information that goes beyond financial data. It's important to look at information from sources outside the company you are investigating. Use the library's databases to look for news, opinions, case studies, and other research relating to your company and its brands, products, or services. These sources are also valuable for researching corporate responsibility.

Don't forget about books! Major players in the industry may be the subject of entire books, or may be featured in a chapter or case study. Go to the Books - ebooks tab above to find tools and advice about finding books and ebooks at Atlantic Cape.

Stock exchanges are the organizations through which stocks are traded on the open market. In the U.S., trading is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The two best known exchanges in the U.S. are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ, but there are many others. For lists of stock exchanges around the world, check out World Stock Exchanges.

Ticker symbols are used to represent companies on stock exchanges. Ticker symbols are useful for looking up financial information about publicly traded companies, and for tracking stock prices. Here are some sources for ticker symbols.

Market Watch Symbol Lookup

NASDAQ Symbol Lookup

New York Stock Exchange Listing

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires that publicly-traded companies report on their financial status. This is the corporate equivalent of an income tax return, but much more complex. Although a lot of the information provided may overlap, SEC reports and reports to stockholders are not identical.

U.S Companies

10-K reports are required annually.

10-Q reports must be filed quarterly.

 DEF 14A reports, or proxy statements, are filed in anticipation of a stockholder vote, most commonly before the annual shareholders' meeting.

Foreign Firms Trading on U.S. Stock Exchanges

20-F reports are required annually.

Market Share is a measure of how a business stacks up against its competitors. Market share is a ratio of either the value ($$) or volume (units) of sales over a given period of time to the total value or volume of sales within the industry/sector or a geographically determined segment of the industry/sector.

Market share is challenging to determine, and larger companies frequently commission reports from research consultants to determine this statistic. To estimate market share, use a company's annual report or 10-K to determine sales, or, for private companies, subsidies, and branch operations, use Reference USA. For industry figures, check out reports from related trade associations; be prepared to find that the measures for these figures vary from one report to another.