Western Carolina University

WCU is a University of North Carolina Campus

Financial Data

Public companies are required to file financial reports with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Private companies have no such obligation and may or may not make this information public.

Financial data on private companies in directories such as Reference USA or LexisNexis can be very unreliable. The same sources should be OK for public companies as the source is usually the SEC. Be sure that the information is current.

LexisNexis Company Dossier (Online)
Includes SEC filings, detailed analysis from major financial companies, patents and trademarks, recent court cases, detailed financials (inc. insider trading), subsidiaries, and news.

LexisNexis Company Profiles (Online)
Annual reports (1972-1995), bankruptcy and reorganization plans, international companies, credit reports, stock reports, and more.

Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage (Online)
Detailed financial data and analysis. Includes S&P’s own ratings on fair value, volatility, insider activity, credit rating, and more.

Morningstar (Online)
Find analysis, ratings, ratios, dividends & returns, insider trading, and much more.

Value Line (Print)
Single, very dense page of essential financial data for investment decisions. Updated quarterly.

Two useful websites:

Yahoo! Finance
Excellent personal investment site.

EDGAR Reports (SEC Filings & Forms)
All financial records that the federal government requires public companies to file. From 1996.