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This Is Auburn Auburn University Libraries LibGuides

Business Research

"No one is born knowing how to do business research." (Ross, 2020) Use the guide menu to begin exploring the "core four" types of business information: company, industry, financial, and consumer.

Library Databases

For larger, public companies:

Best Bet

Other Options


For private, smaller companies:


Help Guides

Mergent Online: Help Topics

ProQuest One Business: Help on Company Reports

Business Insights: Essentials: Product Resource Guide (see page 4 for help on searching company profiles)

Mergent Intellect: Help on a Company Search or Help doing an Advanced Search

Government Source

Search Tips

  • If your company is a subsidiary of a larger company, you usually need to search for the parent company in these databases.
  • Limited financial data will be available for private companies. We often must rely upon what the company makes available, what we can find in the business news, and using industry ratios to make estimates.
  • Don't forget to visit company websites and social media accounts to gather company information. Financials are usually found on the corporate page under an investor or shareholder section.