LibGuides: CMP 4465: Ad Campaigns: Company Profile and Market Research

Public vs Private Companies

Knowing if a company is public or private is important in company research. It determines how much information you're likely to find, and where to look for it.

Public companies

issue stock
are traded under abbreviations known as ticker symbols
are sometimes called publicly traded companies
are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file regular financial reports and other documents
lots of information available, on the company's website and other business websites and in subscription databases

Private companies

do not issue stock
are not required by regulatory bodies like the SEC to reveal any information about themselves
it may not be possible to find out much about them, beyond what they post on their websites
articles in trade journals and newspapers can be good sources of information

From University of Dayton Library Research Gguide.

Using NAICS:

Find Information using North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

NAICS/Industry Codes:

Fast-Food & Quick-Service Restaurants Industry:

722511 Full-Service Restaurants
722513 Limited-Service Restaurants
722512 Limited-service eating places
236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
238299 All other building equipment contractors

447110 Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores
447190 Other Gasoline Stations

445120 Convenience Stores

453998 All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores)

453999 All other miscellaneous store retailers (except beer and wine-making supplies stores)

452999 All other miscellaneous general merchandise stores

Public and Private Company Research

Below are databases, paid and licensed for ISU students, faculty and staff use only. To get access to them off campus you will need to log in with your ISU ID number and last name.

Business Source Complete (EBSCOhost) Information about company profile if the company is publicly traded. Also of interest:

Recent issues of 2014/2015 Restaurant, Food & Beverage Market Research Handbook, offers information related to quick-service restaurants (QSR) in the U.S as of 2014, list of 75 largest limited-service burger chain restaurants in the U.S, role of customer's engagement in social media as an important aspect in developing restaurant brands, etc
GAS STATIONS WITH CONVENIENCE STORES (NAICS 44711). "An industry report of the gas stations with convenience stores industry in the U.S. is presented from publisher Barnes Reports, with topics including market report, industry trends, and demographic data for the industry."

Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) LexisNexis® Company Dossier "delivers instant, pre-packaged desktop access to extensive, current data on 13 million companies. It collects information from multiple sources and compiles that information into a comprehensive but easily-assimilated report on a targeted company. Each company report delivers information that would require more than 60 searches using traditional search methods."

Standard and Poor's NetAdvantage
NetAdvantage contains a directory of corporations, executives and directors for many private companies.

Hint: To access the private company directories, from the home tab select "Register of Private Companies" under quick links.

Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS)

Users without accounts will need to enter their email address to receive one-day access. Users can get access for unlimited days.
Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS) is the research platform and business intelligence tool for over 30,000 corporate, academic, government and nonprofit clients at over 375 institutions in 33 countries.

Using SIC codes

Find information using SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) System Search:

5411 Grocery Stores

5541 Gasoline Service Stations

5812 Eating Places