YCCC: Company Research: Public Companies

Ticker Symbols

Ticker symbols are letters used to uniquely identify a public company and can be used to make company research more effiicient. One of the quickest way to find a ticker symbol is to use a free website like:

Stockcharts.com
Just type in the company name you want to look up and click "Search!" Look for more information in the "Mentions" column.

Financial Information

Annual Reports.com
Provides free web access to annual reports for many companies.
SEC Filings & Forms (EDGAR)
Publicly traded companies in the United States are required by law to submit information (10-K’s and 10-Q’s filed annually and quarterly respectively) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Yahoo Finance
Find financial information (including annual reports) for public companies.

Public or Private?

Before you start your company research, find out if the company is public or private.

Public Companies:

Sell shares to the general public to raise capital
Regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission
Required to disclose financial information
Listed on one of the stock exchanges and has a ticker symbol

Private Companies:

May be owned by founders, employees, and large investors
No disclosure of information required