International Company Information
Jeannie Bail
Introduction
Many of the company resources introduced in Module 3, Company Research, also contain data on international companies. Thus, this section will focus primarily on how to find information on companies incorporated outside Canada.
Despite many multinational or transnational companies having a corporate presence in North America, they are often headquartered elsewhere. Thus, it’s critical to be able to locate business information in foreign jurisdictions where the company is based.
For example, Unilever PLC, whose brands include Dove and Ben & Jerry’s, is a huge transnational holding company that is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and has subsidiaries (companies that are controlled by a holding company) operating in Canada and the United States. If you want to see how its stock is performing, or obtain its recent filings, you would need to know how to access data for the London Stock Exchange (its primary listing for trading stock shares) and Companies House (where you can find the filings history for public companies).
This module will cover the types of company information you might need to conduct due diligence on a company incorporated outside of North America, and some of the top sources for tracking down. In addition, it will introduce you to foreign government filings systems and how to locate.
Company Research Refresher
Just to review, below is an overview of the different categories of information available on companies, examples of the types of data you would find for each and resources where you can find. Depending on your information need, you may have to access a variety of sources to get everything required for an assignment, pitch or project. Below are the major different types of company research, as a refresher from Module 3: Company Research.
| Company Basics | Brief information such as the company name, industry classification code, contact information, names of key C-suite executives, etc. |
| Company Profiles | Company profiles are more substantive than basics and usually contain a detailed company overview, historical and projected financials, stock pricing, ownership structure, company news, access to filings, details of products and operations, comparable or peer companies, family tree, and more. |
| Detailed Financial Data | Publicly-traded companies are required by law to report their financial statements to shareholders in the form of a series of regulated accounting documents e.g., income statement, balance sheet, cash flow, and stock pricing information as well as merger and acquisitions activities. These documents are reported regularly, based on a country’s reporting and filing requirements. |
| Company Ratios | Ratios are an important tool to determine how well a company is performing when compared against its peers. Financial ratios are calculated using the figures provided in a company’s financial statements and can offer insights to lenders and pote