When researching a company, it is helpful to determine whether it is public, private, or a subsidiary of a larger parent company. This will give you a sense of where to look for information and what you might expect to find.

• Public Companies - A company issuing securities and trades on a stock exchange. These companies are regulated by the SEC and are required to disclose financial statements and annual 10-K reports. More information is available on these companies. You are likely to find a detailed Company Profile in our library business databases, and company websites typically post Annual Reports and financial statements on the Investor Relations or Corporate sections of their websites. For example, Casella Waste Systems is a public company that trades its stock on the NASDAQ under the CWST ticker. They must disclose a lot of information about their company to the public.
• Private Companies - A company that is privately owned and does not have shares that are traded in public exchanges. Private companies are more challenging to research because they are not required to meet the exact filing requirements of public companies. To research a private company, search for current news articles, magazine profiles, and trade publications in the library databases. Keep in mind that the smaller the company, the less information you'll be likely to find. For example, Burton Snowboards is a privately held company that does not trade on the stock market. They are not required to disclose such information to the public but might choose to list specific corporate data on their website. If you are researching this company, you will be limited to what they decide to tell the public and the press.
• Subsidiaries - A company entirely or partially owned and controlled by a parent company. It is researching the parent company to find information regarding the subsidiary is the best example; Unilever owns Ben & Jerry's. You can find some company information on the B Jerry's website or through article searches, but you need to search Unilever for official annual report data and financial information.
• The company's website should be your first stop for gathering information about how it presents itself to the public. You may find things like Mission Statements, company history, corporate structure, and top executives, even for a privately owned company, for the About Us or similar link on the main company home page 
• For publicly traded companies, look for links like Investor Relations, which may be all the way at the bottom of the home page. Forms 10-K and 10-Q are the annual and quarterly accounting statements public companies must file with the SEC. You may also find the latest Annual Report and meeting information under Proxy materials