Science,
Industry and Business Library
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Locating Financial Information
Getting Information from the Company Itself
Getting Information from the
SEC
Interpreting Financial Information
Assessment
Getting Information from the Company Itself
As we've mentioned, any active company will generate a lot of information
about itself. The question is, how do you get at that information?
The proliferation of information on the Internet is a great boon
to those undertaking company research. At a time when everyone and
his or her cat seems to have a website, most businesses cannot afford
to function without a virtual presence. Particularly if you are
researching a private
company, the company's website may be your first and best source
of information.
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Let's take a look in more detail at one company's website.
Hershey's website has a lot of information on it. It offers
recipes, consumer information, and a gift shop. You could
even take a virtual tour of the factory or find out how to
eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. How do you get the information
you are looking for?
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In this section, we'll look at the value of using a company's website
as a source of information about that company.
How do I locate a company's website?
Locating a company on the Web is often a simple matter. Some directories
-- especially those that provide their information online -- list
a company's Web address.
If you know the name of the company but not the URL, try plugging
the company's name into a "generic" URL format -- http://www.the
company'sname.com. This will often take you right where you want
to go.
If you can't locate the website that easily, you'll have to use
a search engine (such as Google,
http://www.google.com) or search directory (such as Yahoo,
http://www.yahoo.com) to locate the site.
One important resource often found on a company's website is a company's
Annual Report.
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