Library: Management: Companies

Find company information

We have a wide range of company and financial databases to help you research businesses in the UK and around the world. Most of the databases have useful guides and videos to help you to get started. The databases are grouped by type in this guide, but you can also see the A-Z of all Library databases.

D&B Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Provided by Dunn and Bradstreet, this is a user-friendly source of information on 120 million companies. IMPORTANT: Please note that business and news databases are licenced for education and research purposes only and cannot be used for University business.
It offers financial and executive details plus a description of activities and competitors of public, private, and government-run enterprises. Graphs and charts allow users to quickly view and understand company trends and compare with competitors. It includes up to 10 years of historical financials, downloadable family trees, SWOT analyses and business triggers and signals (to spot business opportunities.)

Hoovers User Guide

EMIS This link opens in a new window
An emerging markets platform providing company, country and industry intelligence. It includes 9,000 local news sources, private/public company data, industry reports from global and local providers and complex analytical tools to monitor, screen and analyse trends, risks and forecasts.
Features reports from Euromonitor, Mintel, BMI, Economist Intelligence Unit, Marketline, S&P, Oxford Economics and D&B.
• Companies: 4.9 million private and public emerging market company profiles.
• Industries: EMIS covers 250 different industries throughout the emerging markets.
• Countries: Data covers 125 emerging markets.
• M&A: more than 139,000 M&A deals along with proprietary research, valuations and forecasts.
MarketLine This link opens in a new window
MarketLine is a global business resource covering 120 industry sectors, 500,000+companies, 200 countries, and 1950 cities. Analysis includes Five Forces (Industry), SWOT (Company), PESTLE/PEST (Country), and Case Studies.
Industry data & analysis:
• 6000+ Industry Profiles including Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
• Market values, volumes, and forecasts for over 120 industry sectors and 50 countries
Company data & analysis:
• 500,000+ Company Database
• 100,000+ Company Profiles
• 12,000 SWOT Analyses
• 450+ Case Studies highlight best and worst practice
• Company News and Financial Deals tracked and updated daily
Country & City data & analysis:
• Key socio and macroeconomic indicators for more than 200 countries and 1950 cities
• Country Profiles and City Profiles evaluating Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental Factors
Data & Tools
• Screen companies and build lists of potential business partners, clients, and investment targets from a database of over 500,000 companies
• Stay informed of market developments with over 600,000 Company News articles and 400,000 Financial Deals

Marketline Guide

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Mergent Online offers global company financials, descriptions, history, subsidiaries, bonds, officers and directors. Powerful intuitive search capabilities combined with an easy to use interface, access to risk ratings, credit information and recommendations. Includes Investext reports.

Mergent Online Guide

Nexis This link opens in a new window
Nexis provides access to international company information such as company directories, annual reports, market surveys, financial information and detailed company profiles for a range of countries and regions of the world.
News coverage includes the Financial Times from 1982 with a 30 day embargo. Note that the FT is not in the UK newspapers group search (filter) in the Power Search.

Video: Nexis - finding news on companies with Power Search (02:57)

Orbis VL This link opens in a new window
Orbis VL provides information on more than 630,000 of the worlds largest public and private companies. It contains up to 30 years of detailed, standardised, financial accounts of all company types such as banks, insurance, corporates, listed, unlisted, active, or inactive companies from 140 countries. IMPORTANT: Please note that business and news databases are licenced for education and research purposes only and cannot be used for University business.
The information includes income statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements, stock data and ratios. It is an ideal tool for comparison and analysis, including peer and statistical analyses and time series searching.
Passport This link opens in a new window
Passport (from Euromonitor) provides concise profiles of leading companies and brand and market share data.
• Countries: profiles (demographic, economic, political) and business dynamics
reports including SWOT analyses.
• Companies: profiles, market share and brand share rankings.
• Lifestyle statistics: reports on 76 countries detailing consumer habits and lifestyles.
• Updated analysis: daily industry and country news.
• Statistics: international macro-economic and demographic data.

Transcripts for Passport videos

FAME This link opens in a new window
Contains up to 20 years of financial information on private and public companies in UK and Ireland, and includes profiles, directors, subsidiaries and detailed financials. IMPORTANT: Please note that business and news databases are licenced for education and research purposes only and cannot be used for University business.
Companies are ranked within peer groups and searchable by region and activity. Results are presented as graphs and downloadable to Excel.

CSMAR (web version) This link opens in a new window
CSMAR is a comprehensive database of China’s stock returns, covering all companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock exchange. Access data on the China stock markets and the financial statements of China’s listed companies.
● 15 types of changes in shares outstanding, including IPO, listing of seasoned new issue and listing of re-allotment shares
● Financial statements (quarterly, semi-annually, annually)
● Stock market trading (daily and monthly return, shares outstanding)
● Closed-end fund and open-end fund
● Corporate Governance
● Mergers and Acquisitions
● Initial Public Offering
● Shareholders’ Research
● Coverage from 1990

S&P Capital IQ Pro (formerly SNL FIG/Global Market Intelligence) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive database of financial data, news and analytics for banking and insurance companies globally. Includes sovereign macroeconomic, risk and ratings data.
Both staff and students are welcome to use the helpdesk provided by S&P. Link to the help section using the ? in the top right hand side of the database. Follow the links to 'email questions' and see the telephone number for immediate help.

You can opt to use the MS Excel plug-in with the database: S&P provide a list of FAQs to help.

Webinar: Introduction to the SNL Fig Market Intelligence Platform (31:35)
Webinar recorded by Chris Vanderpool from FIG Research.
Video: lecture capture of SNL FIG training (01:02:00)

Find financial information

Our specialised financial databases enable you to find current and historical financial data on companies and markets. Some require additional usernames and passwords so please refer to the help links which will provide you with the guidance you need. The databases are grouped by type in this guide, but you can also see the A-Z of all Library databases.

IMPORTANT : Access to Datastream, Eikon and Thomson One is now via Refinitiv Workspace. Registration is needed - please see the link to Refinitive Workspace below.

Bloomberg Professional Terminal This link opens in a new window
Bloomberg is a global financial services system that integrates data, news and analytics.
It provides reliable financial, economic and government information covering all market sectors. It features company profiles and financials, more than 20 years of market data, charts, statistics and a communications platform. Content includes current and historical financial data on commodities and currencies, equities, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, and futures for both international and domestic markets.
Morningstar Desktop This link opens in a new window
This multi-currency investment analysis platform provides access to investments in indexes, equities, hedge funds, segregated accounts, open-end funds, closed-end funds, insurance/pension/life and exchange traded funds. Access is provided via a desktop application that must be downloaded to your personal Windows laptop.
For each investment, there is information on performance, operations, portfolio holdings, and risk measurements. Download the desktop version to your personal laptop or PC for full functionality.

Videos and guides from Morningstar
Morningstar on your desktop
There is a desktop version that you can download to your personal Windows laptop.
Refinitiv Workspace for Datastream/Eikon and Thomson One
Provides access to company financial data and economic indicators as well as news, analytics and productivity tools.
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Includes M&A deals, private equity and Investext reports. The Investext reports provide active and historical research available from over 1,600 brokerages, investment banks and independent research firms around the globe (including Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and J.P.Morgan).

WRDS (Wharton Research Data Services) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a range of third party financial research data via a web interface. Our subscribed databases include the following: Audit Analytics; BoardEx; Compustat; CRSP; CSMAR*; CUSIP; Daily TAQ; LSPD; Markit; Mergent FISD; MFLINKS; OptionMetrics IvyDB US and IvyDB Europe and Thomson-Reuters LPC DealScan.
You must register for access before you use WRDS:
https://wrds-www.wharton.upenn.edu/register/

*Note that CSMAR is available via WRDS (in a limited form) but that the online version of CSMAR provides access to the complete database.

You must register before you can use WRDS. Please note that the database is not available to undergraduates.

WRDS information and help

Investext reports on Mergent
Easy to use Investext analysts reports.

To find the analysts' reports choose the Investext tab and search for the company of your choice using both the 'company name' option AND the headline search in the 'keywords' option.

Mergent Online Guide

Analyst reports can also be found on Refinitiv Workspace.

M&A deals can be found on Refinitiv Workspace.

Private equity information can be found on Refinitiv Workspace.