SWOT Research

Private companies are those for which there is no public ownership of their shares or assets. Because private or family-owned companies are not required to file detailed financial information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), there are a lot fewer information sources for private company research.   

Here are some general guidelines for searching for information on non-public companies:

• Search for your Company/Organization's name when searching online for news and journal articles.

• Search the Industry of your company/organization to find out news, trends, threats, etc.  Think about how your  company compares to others in the industry.   What is going on in the industry of your company (e.g. pricing trends, competition, cost trends, innovation) and also what is happening in the operating environment (e.g. economy, demographic trends, regulation/laws etc).

• Search the Organization/Company’s website for any information they may have available to the public such as press releases and news.   However, be sure to understand the bias of information posted on a company's website. They are not likely to post negative information.

• If your internship is at a local or state government office, you can still take a look at the organization and the functions it performs and how they might perform vs. their competition or similar municipalities or states.   Speak to some administrators and ask questions such as: 

• How do their internal computer systems work?
• What services do you provide for the public and how effective are they at providing them?
• ​You can also research current news to help with the External Assessment of your organization.
• What are the issues that your municipality is facing?​
• Are their budget cuts coming that could affect staffing and levels of service?

Directories/Rankings of Non-Public Companies:

• Forbes - America's Largest Private Companies

  The companies on this list all have at least $1 billion in annual revenues and either too few shareholders to be required to file financial statements with the Securities & Exchange Commission or shares whose ownership is restricted to some group, like family members or employees. The list can be searched by rank, name, state, industry, revenue and employees.
• Inc. 50000. The Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

  The Inc. 5,000 is an expansion of the Inc. 500, which Inc. introduced in 1982. The Inc. 5,000 offers a comprehensive look at the 5000 fastest growing private companies in America.
• Red Herring's 100 Awards

  Since 1996, Red Herring has complied a list of the top 100 private technology companies. The site includes the top 100 companies in the Global, North American, Europe and Asia categories. To be included on the list companies must be technology or life science-based and privately held.

Databases:

• Manta Companies in the United States - Search by name of your company.
• Nexis Uni - To find company information, Choose “Companies” on the right side of the page. Get a snapshot of a company with links to more detailed information. Results may include company information, mergers and acquisitions, news, top executives, SEC filings, legal information, and more.