International Company Research: Selected Resources

Resources listed below are available at both the Keffer and O'Shaughnessy-Frey Libraries. 

Company overviews and directory information

• Mergent Online. (UST subscription database)
  Includes brief corporate histories, products, and balance sheet data.
• Kompass. (UST subscription database)
  Kompass provides product, contact and other information for 1.8 million companies worldwide.
• Reference USA--International Businesses Module. (UST subscription database)
  Detailed profile information on 3.7 million international companies and hundreds of industries. Use the Search link next to International Businesses.
• Lexis-Nexis Business. (UST subscription database)
  Search by company name, ticker, etc. Includes Hoover's Company Records.
• Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States. (UST subscription database)
  Includes non-U.S. companies from over 85 countries with a substantial investment in U.S. operations.
• Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries. (UST subscription database)
  Includes American companies with a substantial investment in overseas operations, covering over 190 countries.
• WorldScope. (UST subscription database)
  Basic financial information on public companies worldwide.
• AdviceforInvestors.com.
  Canadian company and investment information, from "the largest provider of investment services in Canada."
• Europages, the European Business Directory.
  Covers 35 European countries. 
• globalEDGE Company Directories. 
  Web portal for international business information. 
• International Directory of Company Histories. (UST subscription database)
  History and development of the world's most influential companies. 
• Strategis Company Directories.
  Canada's business information site, including company directory information. 

Financial information/annual reports

• Mergent Online. (UST subscription database)
  Balance sheet and other financial data.
• Factiva. (UST subscription database)
  To search for a company, choose the Companies/Markets tab, then choose Company.
• Annual Report Service.
  Provided by WILink and The Wall Street Journal.
• EquitiesInfo.
  Links to annual reports for Australian companies.
• Carol.
  Annual report information for European companies (registration required.)
• SEDAR.
  Annual reports and other securities filings for Canadian companies.
• Wright Research Center.
  Profiles on over 31,000 companies worldwide (registration required.)

Competitor information

• Finding SIC or NAICS codes for a company. (UST guide)
• Kompass. (UST subscription database).
  Kompass provides product, contact and other information for 1.8 million companies worldwide. Search by keyword or by industry.
• Reference USA--International Businesses Module. (UST subscription database)
  Choose the Competitors Report link.
• Factiva. (UST subscription database)
  Choose the Companies/Markets tab, then choose Company and search. Scroll down to the bottom to see the competitor list, here called "Peer Group" (the nearest 10 companies by sales.) 
• Mergent Online. (UST subscription database)
  Choose the Competitors tab.
• Yahoo Company Profiles. (from Market Guide)

Locating articles

• Business Source Premier.
  Full-text articles and abstracts from management, marketing, non-profit and business journals.  Also includes some international company profiles. 
• Business and Company Resource Center.
  Full-text periodical articles and abstracts covering all aspects of business and management. Also includes some international company profiles. 
• Proquest Newsstand.
  Full-text access to selected international and U.S. newspapers.
• Factiva.
  Full-text access to hundreds of newspapers and journals in all topic areas. Updates and coverage vary.
• Lexis-Nexis.
  Thousands of full-text periodical articles. Updates and coverage vary.  

Company rankings

• Financial Times 500.
• Forbes Lists (including the Forbes World's Largest Companies)
• Fortune Global 500 through Business Source Premier (each year in the July issue of Fortune, search for Global 500 or World's Largest Corporations.)
• Largest Transnational Corporations. (U.N. Conference on Trade and Development)

Research consultations

Professional reference service is available at both the St. Paul and Minneapolis campus libraries. While walk-in service is often available, appointments should be made for lengthy reference consultations or tutorials. If you are interested in a research consultation, contact:  

• Ryan Carter, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4646, cart1589@stthomas.edu
• Marianne Hageman, St. Paul, (651) 962-5404, mdhageman@stthomas.edu
• Eric Kallas, St. Paul, (651) 962-5013, epkallas@stthomas.edu
• Andrea Koeppe, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4647, arhudson@stthomas.edu
• Janice Kragness, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4645, jlkragness@stthomas.edu

Updated September 2008 mdh