Investigating private companies, which are not listed on stock exchanges, presents numerous challenges. This task often demands a high level of ingenuity and persistence.
Unlike their public counterparts, private companies are not obligated to submit filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Therefore, the detailed information typically found in these filings is generally unavailable for private firms. However, there are two notable exceptions. First, if a private company has merged with or been acquired by a public company, the public entity might disclose details of the transaction in its SEC filings. Second, if a company transitioned from public to private, its previous SEC filings remain accessible and can be useful for a limited period.
The following sources and strategies may uncover additional information, however, for many private companies, it may be difficult to find more than just their name and location.
Many of the best sources are behind a paywall. eg. Pitchbook, FactSet, D&B Hoovers, and CapitalIQ, Westlaw Company Investigator.
Some private companies will put some information on their website and you can find whatever information they have by Googling the company and examining the About page:
Larger private companies may have more financial information on their websites:
For the company address and names of officers, try:
State Filing Offices
In the U.S., corporations are generally registered with the Secretary of State's office in the state where they are incorporated. You may be able to find the address of the company and the registered agent for free online by searching in something like a Business Entities database (each State is different). The charter is usually a public document filed with this office. So if you want corporate governance information:
With an SFPL card, you can also access much more comprehensive company profiles that you can build, that include financial details, names of officers, family trees (showing subsidiaries and parents) and industry details:
Public companies, which are listed on U.S. stock exchanges, are generally easier to research compared to private firms due to regulatory requirements. Key information is often accessible via the company's Investor Relations page, various websites, or through specialized subscription databases.
You can find a lot of free information, including financial information and you can pull data like the stock prices during a certain time period, using:
Company directories and databases provide information beyond what's on a company's own website, like details on competitors and sales figures. Resources like Mergent Intellect and Mergent Online are useful for this, allowing customized searches by location, industry, and company type, and even letting users download specific data.
San Francisco Public Library cardholders can access these in-depth company profiles, which they can customize, and which include financials, leadership details, corporate family trees, industry information, and SEC filings.
If the company is publicly traded in the United States, its charter (usually called "Articles of Incorporation") and sometimes its bylaws are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
