Skip to Main Content

Company research

Researching a company - which resource?

E- resources
We subscribe to a number of company research databases and datasets. Larger quoted/listed companies are the easiest to research as they need to make their information public. Private companies and partnerships are harder to research as information need not be disclosed. However if you are looking at a VC backed company or funder try Pitchbook or CIQ (See our section on private companies).

Which resource?
In the first instance we suggest you use CIQ. But which resource you decide is often down to personal preference. 
See Wall Street Preps quick product comparison here.

S&P Capital IQ
Has international company coverage, including some private companies. Good for company screening, financials, price data, deals, peer groups and more. It is It is also useful for VC backed companies.
It has an Excel add-in. (This does not work for Mac users who can use the Finance Suite terminals where the add-in is installed.) 

Factset
Registration required. Good for quoted companies, screening, supplier relationships and has well presented company news. Has an attractive intuitive interface. But no Excel add-in for students. 

Mergent Online
No registration required. Good for basic company details and has the benefit of the Investext module for city analysts' research reports. It offers limited ESG reports.

Bloomberg 
The best source for fixed income and has become the industry standard for global financial markets data. Good for ESG data and has some analysts' research plus Bloomberg Intelligence <BI>for useful industry information. Available on campus only in the Finance Suite or RB.B1.19. An Excel add-in is availble but you must run the Bloomberg Excel fix at the outset. Instructions are on the desks.
Data downloaded using the Bloomberg Excel Add-in is subject to daily and monthly download limits. See here for details.

Eikon
Formerly Reuters Eikon, is a competitor to Bloomberg. It includes Datastream Excel option for downloading long time series. Eikon is on campus in the Finance Suite or there are a number of bookable remote access terminals. Use the appropriate links below. To access the Eikon Excel add-in and the Eikon Datastream Excel add-in you need to run the installed version of Eikon.
    LBS staff and students see this page for Eikon access.
    LBS Faculty and PhD students see this page for Eikon access.