Finding Information about Businesses

Tools for finding information on private companies:

Directories:

• Secretary of State Corporations Division - Business Names Search 
• (can also search by name of owner or corporate officer)
• ReferenceUSA (U.S. Businesses)  State Library database
• Useful for addresses, contacts, web address, corporate linkages (parent/child company relationships), local branches, nearby competitors.
• Use advanced search to search by business type and business characteristics (# of employees, estimated revenue, personal names)
• Use U.S.  Historical Businesses for businesses that have closed
• Note: revenue amounts, number of employees provided are only estimates

News sources (to find stories about businesses):

• America’s News  State Library database
• full-text of more that 2000 U.S. news sources including 18 Oregon newspapers
• US Newsstream  State Library database
• full-text of newspapers including Statesman Journal, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal
• Business Source Premier (Ebsco)  State Library database
• indexing and full-text of business magazines, trade publications - tutorial video
• Business (Gale OneFile) State Library database
• indexing and full text of business magazines, trade publications
• Google News

Oregon Regulatory Database Examples (find information businesses are required to provide by law) :

• Oregon Consumer and Business Services Oregon chartered banks search (select "Call" report type)
• other examples: Oregon Dept. of Agriculture Food Safety; DEQ wastewater permits; PUC eDocket search)
• Be InfORmed: Search Consumer Complaints (Oregon Department of Justice)

Image: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives