MGT499 Public Company Research
Self-directed Exercise Worksheet
(Updated Spring 2025)
The Company Name: ______________________________________________________________
1. Try to do a Google search with [Company Name] investor relations.
- Locate the company's investor relations webpage
- Find their SEC Filing 10-K (annual report)
- Download the most recent 10-K Report
* if it is hard to locate the 10-K Form the investor’s relation’s page, Google Search [company] 10-K directly.
2. Access IBISWorld Industry Research Profile
A. Find Company Benchmarking Report (incl. SWOT Analysis)
Search the company name; or Go to Products Company (Company Benchmarking) Browse the list or search the company’s name using ctrl+f (windows) or ⌘+f (MacBook); if available, download the Company Report.
B. Find Industry Report
Search the industry at the homepage in the search box or Go to Products Industry Researchbrowse or search the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code Download the report.
- Industry Report: 700 NAICS industries
- Specialized Industry Report: small or new industries complementing NAICS industries
3. Search First Research Industry Profile (public website) with the company’s name or the NAICS code identified from the IBISWorld Report.
* Other ways to try: search a larger competitor’s name, search the industry, or browse the industry categories.
Access Mergent Archive
- Follow D&B Manuals--> First Research;
- Copy/paste the exact NAICS code from the public website;
- Scroll to the right and see the PDF document,
- Download the First Research Industry Profile report.
4. Access Business Source Complete
A. Find SWOT Analysis
- Search the [Company Name];
- Click All Filters under the search box; change Source Types to SWOT analysis/Company Profiles (may need to expand the list to see more options) and click Apply;
- Find the most recent Company Profile/SWOT analysis, Click Access Now PDF and Download the Company Profile/SWOT analysis.
B. Find Industry Profiles
- Change the Source Types to Industry Profiles and Publisher to MarketLine (which has industry profiles with Porter's Five Forces analysis); If available, Select Publisher - Business Monitor International (BMI) (which has industry SWOT analysis & forecast); if needed, use Geography to limit to the United States;
- Identify one of the most relevant Industry Profiles and download it.
- Create the citation using the Cite Tool (click the three-dot icon at the search result page or click the title of the article, then find “ icon on the page).
B. Find A Journal/Trade Publication/Magazine Article
- Limit the Source Types to Academic Journals or Trade Publication or Magazine, then
- Find a relevant article for the company,
- Download the article.
- Select Multiple Articles on the search result list and use the three-dot tool to put the articles into a Project Folder.
5. Access U.S. Major Dailies
-
- Use advanced search, search the company’s name and change in Anywhere to Company/organization, add another keyword for the topic you are interested in such as strategy, plan, culture, challenges, etc.;
- Drag the Publication Date bar to recent years;
- Find a newspaper article for the company on the topic, then
- Download the PDF of the Newspaper Article.
- Create the citation for the article using Cite tool.
If you have any questions, contact Grace Liu, Associate Professor, Business Librarian at yliu@wcupa.edu
Find the library guide at: https://library.wcupa.edu/mgt499
