Company research
Public or private?
Public companies are listed on the stock exchange (see ASX company list). They release detailed information on a quarterly basis and are easier to research.
Private companies are not listed on the stock exchange. They are not required to release information about themselves publicly and can be challenging to research.
Subsidiaries are companies whose voting stock is more than 50% owned by a controlling (or parent) company. Parent companies are not required to report on each of their subsidiaries, so these can be challenging to research.
Annual and company reports
For public companies.
- PassportUse the search bar to find the required company. Under analysis, look for the world company profile. Alternatively, use the local company profile if you are looking for a specific jurisdiction.
- Business Source CompleteChoose Advanced Search. Under Publication Type, choose Company Profile.
- IBISWorld Australia Company Profiles
Analyses the 2000 largest Australian and New Zealand companies (including listed & non-listed, public, private and foreign owned, trusts, and government businesses).
- IBISWorld AU & NZ Enterprise Profiles
Analyses the leading enterprises across Australia and New Zealand, including:
- ASX and NZX listed companies
- public, private and foreign-owned companies
- local, state and federal government departments
- hospitals
- universities.
Each profile contains directors, key personnel, balance sheet and P&L data, ownership structure as well as any auditors. The premium reports include enterprise activities, cross directorships, industry ratios and an analysis of the competitive environment.
Ownership and structure
Key competitors or compare companies
- Passport Passport offers quality international market intelligence on industries, countries, and consumers. It includes industry data, country reports, global reports, and company profiles.
Case studies
- Emerald InsightSelect Case study from Content type.
- SAGE Business Cases
Quality digital collection of contemporary real-world business cases. A great aid for teaching and understanding business and management curriculum.
- Henry Stewart Talks - The Business & Management CollectionCollection of audio-visual lectures and case studies by leading experts from commerce, industry, the professions, and academia.
Current news about a company
- NewsBankA comprehensive collection of full-text newspapers including both text and image versions. It encompasses more than 7,000 global news sources from 200 countries and territories, with over 600 from Australia.
- ProQuest Australia & New Zealand Newsstream
Major Australian and New Zealand newspapers. It includes regional and rural radio transcripts and news from current affairs television programs such as the ABC 7.30 Report.
Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles
- ProQuest ABI/INFORM CollectionFull text journal articles from key business and economic journals, news sources and industry reports, providing insight into companies and business trends around the world.
- Business Source CompleteProvides bibliographic and full text business content, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886 are included.
- Emerald InsightFull text journals, books and case studies spanning a spectrum of management disciplines. Subjects include: Marketing & human resource management, applied science & technology, economics, education, health & social care, marketing, and sociology.
Tips
When conducting company research, you can also:
- Explore key competitors.
- Look at the company’s website to see what information is available, such as history or press releases.
- See what information is available through the company’s social media sites.
- Research the industry in which the company operates.