FIN/355: International Finance and Trade

Before you begin your research, we recommend you review our Get Started with Company Research guide and use the tips and links in that guide to streamline your research.

To find your company, we suggest searching two databases: Mergent Online and/or Gale: Business Insights. These databases contain international company and industry reports to help you with your analysis.

Mergent Online contains company information, including financial reports, for international companies.

1. Open Mergent Online.
2. Have a company name?
   1. Enter the company name into the Company Search box (i.e., Unilever).
   2. Select your company from the list of results.
   3. At the top of the main page, there will be an Incorporated field that tells you the date and location of incorporation. There will also be a link to a country report that will give basic information (country reports can also be accessed from the homepage).
   4. Tip: When searching, be sure to either de-select U.S. and inactive companies or select a company listed as active from the list retrieved.
3. Haven't selected a company?
   1. Use the classification search to enter a NAICS code. The search page has a code lookup link. For help, you can also review our Understand Industry Classification Codes guide.
   2. If you wish to narrow the possible list of companies further, select a country from the country drop-down menu.

Gale: Business Insights offers international company and industry articles, financial information, and reports.

1. Open Gale: Business Insights.
2. Have a company name?
   1. Enter the company name into the search box (e.g., Inditex) and select your company from the list.
   2. The company profile details at the top of the page will verify the company type (Public (ITX)) and its location (ESP (Spain)).
   3. Scroll down the page to Company Articles. Select the type (Market Research Reports), and browse the results or use the search box for that section to search for a topic (i.e., regulations OR policies).
3. Want to find an international company within a specific industry?
   1. From the homepage, select Browse All Industries under Explore Industries.
   2. Enter a NAICS code in the search box or use the categories to drill down to your desired industry (e.g., 315250).
   3. Select the industry you want and review the Top Companies by Revenue list. Be sure to select a company outside the U.S. from the list or use the country drop-down box to narrow the selection to a specific location. Also, check the description to ensure it is a publicly-held company.
4. Use MarketLine Industry Profiles for an overview. Gale: Business Insights MarketLine Industry Profiles can help you gather information about the competitive landscape, market forces, and macroeconomic indicators.
   1. From the homepage, select Browse All Industries under Explore Industries.
   2. Enter a NAICS code in the search box or use the categories to drill down to your desired industry (e.g., 315250).
   3. Select the industry you want, scroll down the industry page to Industry Articles, and select Market Research Reports.
   4. Use the filters on the right side of the page to narrow the results by publication date and title or to search within the results (i.e., enter a country name). 

Many library databases include data on international industries but may require a little more digging.

The Conduct a PESTEL Analysis guide offers suggestions on researching political, economic, sociocultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors that can impact a company. These factors can be applied to international companies.

1. Look for regional or country filters in the databases.
2. Add the phrase AND [Country Name] when searching for articles and reports (i.e., "computer software" AND Spain).

Review the International Industry Research Tips section of the Find Industry Profiles guide for database recommendations for finding country information.

Have a question or need help?

Need more? We have a collection of How Do I guides to assist you in finding company and industry information. Start here to find additional resources: