Finding financial information on private companies is among the most challenging research you can do. You may need to get creative with your search for this information.

Privately held companies aren’t required to file information with the U.S.Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) like publicly-traded companies, unless they have more than 500 shareholders and $10 million in assets, or a significant amount of public debt, which does not apply to most private companies (especially smaller ones). Search the SEC website at: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html or through a database like Mergent Online (Government Filings tab) or Nexis Uni (Business Topic; search under the Company Search dropdown for SEC Filings)

Some places to look:

1. Company websites
2. Tax returns are available for non-profit organizations (Form 990); you can find many of these in the subscription database Foundation Directory Online
3. Article searches in OSU subscription databases like Business Source Premier, Nexis Uni, and Business Insights: Global. Look for these in the Databases A-Z list or elsewhere in this guide to get access.
4. Local business journals, like Oregon Business Journal or Portland Business Journal (you can look these up in 1Search on the library's main page to get links to the databases that include them) might have an article with some information you can use; check other local publications as well. Try the Wall Street Journal, too, especially for companies outside Oregon
5. The Business pages on the Oregon Secretary of State website may have some useful information (http://sos.oregon.gov/business/Pages/default.aspx)
6. Ask the CEO or Marketing director; sometimes they’re willing to share information with business students.

Resources not available at OSU: Two databases that OSU does not have access to may have some information.

• Reference USA gives an industry average for sales and number of employees for some private companies. OSU students can access this at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library (students may obtain a library card at no charge).
• PrivCo, which the UO subscribes to; it would require a road trip to Eugene, but OSU students can use the databases when they’re physically in the UO Knight Library.

Be aware that the information included in these databases is likely to be somewhat limited and outdated.

The following online resources are freely available and require no registration, login or fee to access. Most of them come from Federal government agencies.

American Fact Finder: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau, including Puerto Rico and island areas. Includes population, housing, and economic information.

State Master: Database of facts about states. When viewing results, look at the bottom of the page to find the source. You may need to visit the source to view the most up-to-date information.

Oregon Explorer: Rural Communities: Information compiled and updated by faculty and staff at Oregon State University thanks to a generous donation from the Ford Foundation. Much of the online information about Oregon communities (including Portland) that can't be found anywhere else.

Two data services from the Bureau of Labor Statistics can help you discover how consumers are interacting with the marketplace. These are industry and not product specific, and regional/demographic breakdowns are often very general.

The Economic Census is the U.S. Government's official five-year measure of American business and the economy. It is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and response is required by law. Trade associations, chambers of commerce, and businesses rely on this information for economic development, business decisions, and strategic planning.

The Economic Census page (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census.html) has links to and information about Census data. Full statistical tables from the Economic Census can be found on the US Census website.

NAICS Lookup from the U.S. Census Bureau

What is NAICS? The North American Industry Classification System or NAICS is a federal classification system used by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to classify business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data relating to the business economy. Such industry classification systems are useful for comparing data.

DOING YOUR OWN SURVEY? OSU students/faculty have access to QUALTRICS

Qualtrics login page: https://uit.oregonstate.edu/qualtrics

OSU provides a campus-wide license for the Qualtrics survey system that is available to all faculty, staff and students. Qualtrics is an industry leading web-based survey system that offers a robust capability for building and distributing surveys and supports sophisticated data analysis tools. For questions about how to use Qualtrics, please contact the business librarian for help.