Research Guides: Company & Industry Research: 1: Public or Private Company?

Is the Company Public or Private?

Before you start searching for information on a company, you need to determine if the company is Public or Private. Typically, there is much more information, including financial information, available on public companies. So, if you are given a list of companies to choose for a research project, my advice is to always choose a public company.

What is a public company?
- A company is public if it has shares that are traded on a stock exchange such as the Toronto Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange. Companies are required to file annual reports and other documents with regulatory bodies such as the Ontario Securities Commission or the Securities & Exchange Commission.
What is a private company?
- A company is private if it is closely-held (typically family owned or through private equity). It is not possible for the general public to buy shares. In most jurisdictions (e.g., Canada or the United States), private companies do not need to file annual reports or disclose financial information to the public.
How can I tell if a company is public or private?
- Search the Mergent Intellect or Mergent Online library databases, which include information on both public and private companies.
- Search the Factiva database.
  - Choose Company from the Companies/Markets tab to find companies by company name. The Company Snapshot indicates the ownership type (Lists or Unlisted).

Library Database Links:

Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window A deep collection of worldwide business information that enables companies to generate insightful business intelligence.Permitted Uses
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window Contains global business and financial data including company and industry profiles and annual reports.Coverage: Current plus up to 15 years of historical data.Permitted Uses
Factiva This link opens in a new window A current international news database from Dow Jones which provides access to premium content from 200 countries, in 28 languages.Users have access to a wide range of information from newspapers, newswires, industry publications, websites, company reports, and more.Permitted Uses

Finding Public Company Annual Reports and Financial Statements

Recent annual reports (10-Ks), quarterly reports (10-Qs), and other securities filings for publicly traded companies are usually posted on a company's web site in an area labeled Investor Relations. For a good example, see Apple's Investor Relations site. If you require access to older reports or financial statement data, you should consult one of the following sources:

SEDAR (Canada)
This site, developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators, provides free access to Canadian securities filings from January 1, 1997 onwards. Filings include annual reports, prospectuses, financial statements and press releases. It includes public companies (listed on a Canadian stock exchange) and investment funds.
EDGAR (United States)
This site, developed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, provides free access to all available electronic filings (10-Ks, etc.) from 1994 onwards.

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
- Contains global business and financial data including company and industry profiles and annual reports.
- Coverage: Current plus up to 15 years of historical data.
- Permitted Uses
S&P Capital IQ This link opens in a new window
- Contains financial data, analytics and research.
- Combines deep information on companies, markets and people worldwide with robust tools for analysis, idea generation and workflow management.
- Covers equities, fixed income, capital structure, credit ratings, transactions, private equity, ownership, macroeconomics and commodities.
- NOTE: Brock students, faculty, and staff must register individually as a New User using their Brock University email address & follow the directions to complete self-registration.
- Permitted Uses