How do I find a company's annual report?
If it is a public company, go to the annual report to shareholders. The annual report is perhaps the best single source of information on a company, but keep in mind that it is written partially as a promotional tool by the company itself and is not an entirely unbiased source. Annual reports appear as parts of various database services, and many companies provide annual reports on their websites or will send out paper copies on request. When you are on a company’s website, look for a link labeled Investor Relations.
Private companies are not required to file annual reports, although some will publish reports as a promotional tool. These private company annual reports are virtually impossible to obtain except from the company itself, and all information in such a report must be treated cautiously. Business directories provide basic information on private companies, such as number of employees and annual sales estimates. Lastly, search local or regional newspapers for information on local and private companies.
Open Access Resources
- EDGARFinancial reports of U.S. corporations from reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Includes annual reports, quarterly reports, balance sheet, income statement, security activity and analysis, and much more. See SEC help guide at https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Article/edgarguide.html
- The Public Register OnlineThis website allows you to access annual reports for free. Registration is required.
Subscription-Based Databases
- Capital IQ (S&P Global)S&P Global Market Intelligence library of company, financial, industry, and equity information.
- Eikon (Refinitiv)Annual reports are available under the filings section for each company. Previously Thomson ONE.
- Government Filings (Mergent Online)Search the government filings either by company information or by date, or both, including SEC filings (US filings) and SEDAR (Canadian filings).
- Hoover'sIncludes company overview, history, products/operations on more than 500 million public and private U.S. companies and international companies. Covers major industry trends, industry links, and IPO information.
- LSEG WorkspaceIt provides access to fundamental financial data on public companies, merger and acquisitions, financial market data and quotes, analyst reports, and private equity and venture capital. It features powerful screening and charting capabilities. This product was formerly known as Thomson ONE, Eikon, and Refinitiv Workspace.
- Mint Global (Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing)Detailed financial statements for public and private companies worldwide. Users can build reports containing detailed standardized financial information or summary information, ownership details, graphics plus data from the other modules. Industry and company profiles from Datamonitor, SEC filings, comprehensive shareholder and subsidiary info, stock data, and more are also included.
Historical Annual Reports
- Annual Reports at Academic Business Libraries (Purdue University Libraries)A directory of the corporate Annual Reports to Shareholders available at participating libraries. Loan policies and access vary by institution.
- Collection of Historical Annual Reports (Penn Libraries)The Collection of Historical Annual Reports is a project of the Lippincott Library at the University of Pennsylvania. The Collection consists of annual reports in PDF format from U.S. companies and covers the period 1800 through 1955. Reports are continuously added.
- Columbia Historical Corporate Reports (Columbia University Libraries)Digitization of select reports from the Columbia Business Library's collection of historical corporate annual reports. The selection targets corporations that operated in and around New York City ranging from the 1850s through the early 1960s.
- Mergent Historical Annual Reports (FTSE Russell)Mergent Archives has three databases offering more than 1,000,000 documents covering the USA, Canada, and International companies as far back as 1844.
- Proquest Historical Annual ReportsOver 150 years of annual reports from hundreds of top North American companies.
