Corporate Filings and Annual Reports

These resources were selected for their authority, ease of use, and accessibility. If you need more assistance, see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/business/refservices.html  or email the research librarians: business@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

Additional resources can be found in CLIO, the library catalog.

CONTENTS:

• Resources for Obtaining Annual Reports and SEC filings
• Historical Annual Reports and Filings
• Financial Data from SEC filings and Annual Reports

There are numerous forms that companies must file with the SEC.   A complete list of SEC filings is available at the Securities Exchange Commission's Web Site

RESOURCES FOR OBTAINING ANNUAL REPORTS AND SEC FILINGS

*Annual reports are provided only if the company chooses to file them with the SEC.

Bloomberg
Business Electronic Resources (Library Use Only)
Bloomberg contains EDGAR filings. To get a list of a company's EDGAR filings, type: "[ticker symbol] <EQUITY> <GO>" . Bloomberg has filings back to 1993.

Company Home Pages
One of the best places to find a company's annual reports and filings is that company's home page. Most public companies have an "investor relations" page on their website that provides annual report(s) and/or SEC filings.

EDGAR: The Official Securities Exchange Commission filings database
EDGAR is the key database for SEC filings; almost all financial, operations, and ownership data is derived from documents in the EDGAR database. The Securities Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR), performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of SEC filings. Not all documents filed with the Commission by public companies are available on EDGAR; for example, filings by foreign companies are not required to be filed on EDGAR, but some of these companies do so voluntarily.

Factiva
Full-text database providing timely and detailed facts, figures and analyses of companies, industries and financial markets. Includes industry and trade publications, news sources, and company and market data. Coverage varies by source.

Thomson Research
Thomson Research contains real-time and historical SEC EDGAR filings, scanned images of company annual reports and foreign exchange filings.

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HISTORICAL ANNUAL REPORTS AND SEC FILINGS

The Business and Economics Library has on microfiche Annual Reports to Stockholders, 10Ks, Prospectuses and Proxies for NYSE and ASE companies.  They are filed alphabetically in the cabinets with the red discs in the microforms area, first floor. Both microfiche readers and reader/printers are located in this area.

The following years are available:

• Annual Reports to Stockholders: NYSE or ASE companies from 1969 to Fall 1994
• 10Ks: NYSE or ASE from 1969 to Fall 1994
• Prospectuses: NYSE or ASE companies from 1983 through 1992
• Proxies: NYSE companies from 1985 to 1999
  

For annual reports before 1934 consult the library's collection of Historical Corporate Annual Reports:

Columbia University's Watson Library of Business and Economics owns a unique collection of historical annual reports.  The majority of the reports predate the 1934 Securities Exchange Act which regulated and standardized reporting.

The reports were written for and disseminated to stockholders and the public. While many reports were published, there was no requirement that they be produced or adhere to a particular format.

The 4,482 corporations whose reports comprise the collection represent most of the industries that were instrumental in the creation of early industrialized America including:

mining forest products industrial machinery electrical power agriculture food processing metals manufacturing oil & gas textiles chemicals pharmaceuticals

communications transportation retail & wholesale trades water utilities beverages insurance financial services publishing building or construction

 

All reports are housed in Columbia University Libraries' offsite facility. To request a report:

1. Open Excel file and find the company in the list
2. Write down the barcode associated with the company
3. Call or visit the Business and Economics Library to request the report from offsite [barcode is needed]*
   Phone: (212) 854-7804  or email: business@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

*Reports must be requested in advance and be used in the library.

 For non-affiliates, see http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/faq/browse/guests.html for information on using the Columbia University Libraries.

FINANCIAL DATA FROM SEC FILINGS AND ANNUAL REPORTS

Compact Disclosure
Business Reserves [HG4028 B2 C61]
Compact Disclosure contains extensive financial information (balance sheets, income statement, footnotes), and the president’s letter and management discussion, extracted from the annual reports, 10Ks., 10Qs, etc., of companies that file with the SEC and produce goods or services. Data contained in Compact Disclosure can be downloaded to a disk, either as a text file or into a spreadsheet program. You can also sort and screen by various criteria.

Worldscope
Business Reserves [HG4050 D571]
Contains basic financial information on public companies worldwide; international equivalent to Compact Disclosure. Data contained in Worldscope can be downloaded to a disk, either as a text file or into a spreadsheet program. You can also sort and screen by various criteria.

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All electronic services are restricted to current students, staff, and faculty at Columbia University, Teachers College, and Barnard College with a valid CUNIX ID and logon.