When doing company research one should determine whether a company is publicly traded, privately held, or a subsidiary. Mergent Intellect can aid you in determining this. If you are doing research on a local level where there are many small businesses, use a database like Reference Solutions to make the determination.

If you have established that a company is public, you will be able to find many sources that provide financial summaries, as well as links to their 10-Ks.  10-Ks are the annual reports that U.S. public companies must submit to the Securities Exchange Commission. The sources in this section will help you do this. Another good source for the 10-Ks is the company's website. These reports are usually located in the "Investor Relations" section of the website.  Some companies also provide digital copies of the Annual reports to stockholders in addition to the 10-Ks.

If you have identified a company as a subsidiary, find its parent. A database like Mergent Intellect will often help you determine whether the parent company is public, private, or a subsidiary.  

You will not be able to find detailed financials for subsidiary or private companies (unless the subsidiary happens to be trading separately from the parent).  A database like Reference Solutions will provide estimated sales figures for some of your competitors.   

Most companies also have websites, so you should examine them thoroughly for information.

Use the databases listed in the Databases for Articles section of this guide to find out if anything has been written about these companies in magazines, trade periodicals, or newspapers.

These sources will help you identify competitors. Mergent Intellect will also often help you determine whether the competitor is public, private, or a subsidiary. The companies in Mergent are only public companies. 

Reference Solutions is a strong source for identifying competitors on a local level as well as helping you to determine the type of company.