MGT 400 - Strategic Management

Public companies sell stock to investors. They are required by law to release detailed financial and other information to the public.

Private companies do not sell stock. They often keep their finances private, and are more challenging to research.

Public companies usually post annual reports under "Investor Relations" or "For Shareholders" on their website.

If your company is a subsidiary (owned by a larger company, called the parent), it can be more challenging to research.

First determine if your company is a subsidiary. If so, you may find more detailed information in the parent company's listing or annual report.

You can search in Mergent to create a list of companies within a particular industry. Use the NAICS lookup to find companies within the maritime industry.

“The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.” (http://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics) 

Hint: try NAICS category 48: “Transportation and Warehousing”
Subcategory: 483: “Water Transportation”
Subcategory: 4872 “Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water”

Tip: Try using the special report categories in Business Source Premier's Business Searching Interface, such as company profiles by country or industry, country and industry reports, SWOT analysis, case studies, and more.

Westlaw's Company Investigator is searchable by company name and other characteristics, such as NAICS and SIC codes.