Commerce Subject Guide: COMM 4501: Investments and Portfolio Management

Corporate Analysis
Stock Data
Industry Analysis
News
Reference Sources

Most of the information required for an investment analysis of a public company is available in corporate annual reports and/or the filings made to the securities regulatory authorities. There are several sources for this information:

1. Company web sites.
- essential to check but information varies, often only recent reports are available

2. Web sites that collect online annual reports.
- may make it easier to find a report
- selected sites are listed at: http://www.mta.ca/library/subject_commerce.html#profiles

3. Investor / stock tracking web sites.
- e.g. globeinvestor.com provide access to company web sites, recent financial data,
annual reports, etc.

4. Mount Allison library Canadian company annual reports collection.
- selected Canadian company annual reports available from 1970's to the present. Search the library catalogue by company name as author. Located in basement: CA 7 ...

5. Lexis/Nexis Databases. On-campus | Off-campus | Guide (.pdf)
- Lexis/Nexis includes several large company financial databases including Worldscope for international companies and Disclosure U.S., etc. Select “Business”, then “Company Financial Reports”or “Company Profiles”. SEC Filings & Reports is also an option. In some cases, many different databases can be searched together. All allow searching by company name, keyword, and variables such as total sales, revenue & assets. Details provided on company financial data, stock performance, analysis, etc. varies.

6. Filings to securities regulatory authorities.
SEDAR & EDGAR
- SEDAR is the Canadian database of filings by public companies and mutual funds, from 1997 to the present. Includes annual reports, quarterly reports, financial statements, prospectuses and more. EDGAR is the U. S. equivalent for companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges.

Globeinvestor
Canadian and U.S. stock quotes, earnings estimates, recent annual reports, company financial data and news on thousands of North American companies. The site also allows you to generate charts and compare stocks. For company ratios select “Reports”, then see options, eg. “Company Report - Ratio”.

Yahoo! Finance
Stock quotes and company financials in more detail than most sites. (For Canadian companies type .TO after the ticker symbol.) Current and historical stock quotes (open, high, low, close, volume, adjusted close) are available from 1962 to the present (daily, weekly and monthly). Also has analyst recommendations, earnings estimates, U.S. financial news, etc.

BigCharts
Provides current and historical stock quotes from U.S. exchanges (closing price on a specific day), excellent charting options, best 10 and worst 10 performing industries in the U.S., etc.
(For Canadian companies type CA: in front of ticker symbol.)

MSN Money Central Investor
Provides quotes and financial data on U.S. public companies including more ratios than most sites, analyst ratings, earnings estimates, etc. (For ratios select “Stocks” then “Financial Results” then “Key Ratios”.

Stock Reports. Available via Lexis/Nexis. On-campus | Off-campus | Guide (.pdf)
Select “Business”, “Company Financial Reports”, then “Source” button: Click on “Stock Reports” (these are by ratings companies, e.g. Zack’s, Nelson’s & Vickers providing EPS, earnings forecasts, stock ownership info., etc.

Some of the stock data sites include a comparison of a stock’s performance with the industry average. (E.g. Yahoo! Finance select “Stock Research” then “Analyst Research” to see Sector/Industry Analysis. Other sources for financial performance ratios by industry include:

Canadian:

Financial & Taxation Statistics for Enterprises. (Access online version through title search in library catalogue.)

Financial Performance Indicators for Canadian Business. (CD-ROM. Circulation desk.)

See also other Canadian resources listed in Marketing Hits – Competitive Analysis.

U.S:

RMA Annual Statement Studies. HF 5681 .B2 R6 REF.

U.S. Economic Census, Industry Series. By U.S. Census Bureau.
Select “Industry Series”. Conducted every 5 years, this census provides detailed information on industries, e.g. number of establishments, expenses & revenue, annual payroll, and for each type of business within an industry: revenue by product line, etc.

NOTE: Much information useful for an industry analysis will also be found in news media, magazines and journals:

Note the difference between primary and secondary sources of “news”:

Primary sources: Published by the companies themselves: e.g. press releases, annual reports, company web sites, etc. Most of the sources already listed are primary sources of news.

Other sites for corporate press releases:

Canada Newswire

PR Newswire

- both of these can be searched by company name, industry, keyword, etc.

Secondary sources: News reports and analytical articles written by others: e.g. some articles in newspapers, business magazines, academic or trade journals, critical web sites like CorpWatch, etc.

To find articles ABOUT companies or industries, search the local and national newspapers linked to from the library at http://www.mta.ca/library/per_indexes_news.html

E.g. NEWSCAN (includes New Brunswick newspapers)
Canadian Newsstand, on ProQuest (includes Globe & Mail and many other Canadian dailies)
Lexis/Nexis (can limit search to legal news, U.S., world, etc. as well as business & industry news)

For articles in business magazines, industry newsletters, academic and trade journals, etc., search the databases linked to from the library at http://www.mta.ca/library/per_indexes_commerce.html

NOTE: ProQuest contains many useful databases (e.g. ABI/Inform Global, ABI/Inform Industry & Trade, CBCA, etc. and all can be searched together if you select ProQuest from the alphabetical link to databases.

Beginners’ Guide to Financial Statements. By U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Business Ratios and Formulas: A Comprehensive Guide. HF 5691 .B73 2002 Reference, Main Floor

The Economist Numbers Guide: The Essentials of Business Numeracy. HF 5695 .S83 1998 Reference, Main Floor

Executive Compensation: A Guide for Investors. By Securities & Exchange Commission.


InvestorWords
Has definitions for over 6,000 investing terms.

NAICS & SIC. (Standard Industry Classifications) By Statistics Canada.
Detailed lists of codes and concordances.

Yahoo! Finance Definition of Terms: Valuation Measures

Yahoo! Finance Financial Glossary

Yahoo! Finance Education Center
Links to many short articles on Stocks and related topics, glossaries, etc.