Libguides: Company Information: Annual reports from companies all over the world

Company types

Access to annual reports depends on the status and type of the company:

Public companies / Listed companies: annual reports and other company filings are accessible
A public company has shares of stock that represent an ownership interest in the company and those shares are traded openly on one or more stock exchanges. Public Companies must file various forms and documents (in the United States the public companies must file to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailing their financial performance and governance structure).
Because of these regulatory requirements, information on many public companies is relatively easy to find.

Ticker Symbol (TIC): A ticker symbol is an abbreviation that symbolizes the companies' stock name, such as CSCO for Cisco Systems. Knowing the ticker symbol of the public company that you are researching can save you a lot of time when researching public companies. Find the ticker symbol for a company.
Private companies:
can be very difficult to find the annual reports

Annual reports - companies outside Denmark

Access to Transcripts, SEC Filings. Filings, Annual Reports etc.
Search hint: search for company name and look in the left hand menu for News, Events & Filings
Coverage: late 1980s until today (depending on the company)

Eikon

Coverage: Eikon includes annual reports from more than 60.000 public listed companies from all over the world. Data is available back to the 1980s

Search hint: enter the company name in the search box > choose the category Filings

Bloomberg

Coverage: annual reports are available back to the 1990s depending on the specific company. The coverage is global.

Search hint: use the command CF

EMIS Emerging:
access to information on companies and annual reports from some of the listed companies from more than 120 emerging markets.
Search hint: Search Company name > Reports > Annual Reports

Westlaw International:
access to annual reports from listed and some private companies from all over the world. The coverage vary from company to company, but you can find annual reports dating back to the early 1990s.

Search hint: find annual reports via US Materials > Business Law Center > Annual Reports to Shareholders. Search for the company name in the "Company"-field or limit your search to companies by "Location of Incorporation", "Industry" or "SIC-Code".

GlobalData Explorer

As part of the Company section in database (access to 750.000+ company profiles) you find the sub-database:
Company Filing Analytics:
The Filing Analytics database serves as an alternative source of competitive intelligence by identifying and tracking the most critical factors that impact performance. It delves into the company’s financial statements and earnings transcripts using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning techniques

Edgar (US SEC company database):
access to all annual reports (so-called 10-K) from the US-listed companies. Foreign listed companies in US file similar annual reports (20-F)
Coverage: back to 1994
Search hint: this Libguide from Milner Library gives you a short introduction on how to use the Edgar database. You can find a more comprehensive guide on the web page of SEC, where you also find an overview of all the filing formats. Here just to mention some of the most common: 10-K (Annual Reports), 10-Q (Quarterly reports), 20-F (annual reports from foreign companies).
Thomson Research also have a Guide to SEC Filings.

Note! look below in the US Annual Reports section for more information

Companies required to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) include:

U.S. publicly-traded parent companies
International companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges

Edgar (US SEC company database):
The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (Edgar) is a database which performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please note that not all documents filed with SEC are available on EDGAR. Access to all annual reports (so-called 10-K) from the US-listed companies. Foreign listed companies in US file similar annual reports (20-F)
Coverage: back to 1994
Search hint: this Libguide from Milner Library gives you a short introduction on how to use the Edgar database. You can find a more comprehensive guide on the web page of SEC, where you also find an overview of all the filing formats. Here just to mention some of the most common: 10-K (Annual Reports), 10-Q (Quarterly reports), 20-F (annual reports from foreign companies).

SEC Forms

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 put in place requirements for disclosure documents filed by public companies. These documents are subject to review by the SEC Division of Corporation Finance. The most common SEC forms are:

10-K
Annual report pusuant to Section 13 or 15(d). Although similarly named, the annual report on Form 10-K differs from the often glossy annual report to shareholders, which a company must send to its shareholders when it holds an annual meeting to elect directors. Some companies release the annual report and the 10-K as one document. The 10-K includes a business overview, risk factors, legal proceedings, selected financial data, management's discussion/analysis, corporate structure and subsidiaries, financial statements and footnotes, auditor's report, directors, executive officers and corporate governance, executive compensation, and more. Often you may find segment, market share information, key brands, etc.
10-Q
General form for quarterly reports under Section 13 or 15(d).
8-K
Covers special material events that occur between 10-K and 10-Q filings.
Proxy Statement
Sent to shareholders before any annual or special shareholder meeting. The statement includes voting procedures and information, background information about the company's nominated directors, director compensation, executive compensation, a breakdown of audit and non-audit fees paid to the auditor. This statement is useful in assessing how management is paid and potential conflict-of-interest issues with auditors.
SEC Forms
A complete listing of all SEC forms may be found on the SEC website.

Searching on the Internet:

Search by the company's name. Once you have entered the company website look for links marked:

Investors / Investor Relations
Shareholder information / Shareholders
About (the company)

Search hint: "company name" investor relations

Other useful websites:

Annual Reports.com
links to company websites listed on the following exchanges: AIM, AMEX,ASX, LSE, NASDAQ, NYSE, OTC, TSX, TSX-V. You can also filter your search by browsing by industry or sector
Proquest Historical Annual Reports (no access)
Over 800 companies. 150 years of coverage.
Mergent Archives, http://www.mergentarchives.com/index.php (no access)
Access more than 85 years of Annual Reports for companies across the globe through Mergent Archives’ historical annual report collection dating back to as early as 1925.
Annual Reports at Academic Business Libraries (limited access)
This database, managed by the Purdue University Library, is a merged list of the corporate Annual Reports to Shareholders at the following universities: Columbia U., Cornell U., Harvard U., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue U., Stanford U., U. of Alabama, U. of California-Berkeley, U. of Pennsylvania, U. of Western Ontario, Yale U., and the Science/Industry/Business Library of New York Public Library.