Researching International Companies

While researching U.S. companies is now comparatively easy, the same cannot be said for international firms. Resources on international companies exist in scattered directories and online yellow pages.

The Wright Research Center offers profiles on over 31,000 companies worldwide. The companies are listed alphabetically, by country, and by industry. You must subscribe for full information.

Find profiles for numerous European companies at Hoover's UK (United Kingdom), this site has a list of United Kingdom companies as well as a list of companies by country.

• Kompass.com is a database of over 1.5 million manufacturing companies in over 70 countries. You can search by company name or product category.
• SEDAR is the Canadian equivalent of the SEC's EDGAR database. This database stores information which has been electronically filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators. There is a very easy to use Public Company Profiles section.

Other sources of information on international companies:

• Europages: The European Business Directory - Site features an online directory of 500,000 companies from 30 countries. Search by product, service, and company name, or browse by category. Site is in 20 different languages.
• Forbes Global 2000 - Forbes annual list of the largest public corporations throughout the world.
• Fortune's Global 500 - Provides snapshots from global companies such as Credit Suisse Group and Hyundai Corp.
• Thomas Register Of European Manufacturers - Basic directory information for more than 180,000 manufacturers from many Western European countries. Site is in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Free registration required.
• Teldir.com - Provides links to over 400 Yellow Pages and Business Directories from over 140 countries around the world.
• Tradeport - Provides a comprehensive database of country-specific guides and market research reports. Produced by the United States Department of Commerce.
• OECD Online - The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development has economic statistics on countries around the world.