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How to Find Company and Industry Information

This guide will assist you in locating company and industry information using library resources.

What is D&B Hoovers Business Browser and how do I find it?

D&B Hoovers Business Browser (formerly OneSource Business) provides comprehensive company and industry information, as well as information about company executives. Over 18 million companies, including international companies, are profiled, and well over 25 million company executives.

It can be accessed from the Databases page under Find on the library homepage.  You will be prompted for your BU Connect login.

For more information on how to use the D&B Hoovers Business Browser,, see the Library Database Information LibGuide..

Company Profiles and Other Information

Company information may be found by typing the name of a company into the Search for a Company box at the top of the page. When the results come up, there may be many companies listed with similar words in their name. Click on the company you are looking for, usually the parent company.  A one page Company Summary will be displayed. Besides a description of the company, it includes information on its executives, recent significant developments, recent news articles, and brief financial and stock information.

Note. This search box has a drop down menu that may be set to other fields besides Companies; use it to search for other things such as News, Contacts, SEC Filings, Research & Reports, and more.

Use the menu on the left of the Company Summary to view detailed information organized under three categories:

  • Core. This category includes more detailed company description and history, as well as products & locations, contacts, corporate family,corporate overview, SWOT Analysis, recent news, and more.
  • Advanced.  Contains information about competitors, closest industry peer and companies, significant developments, analysts' reports, SEC filings, and technologies. 
  • Financials.
    • Financial Health Report,  Shows growth over a five year period..It provides latest key indicators, margins, valuation and effectiveness ratios, and share and dividend activity data. Data provided by Morningstar.
    • Standardized Financial Report. View 3 - 10 years of annual income, annual balance, and annual cash flow. Data provided by Morningstar.
    • Geographic Segments and Business Segments Reports.
    • Annual Ratios. Available for 5 years for financial strength, efficiency, profitability, management effectiveness, valuation, and current market multiples,
    • Ratio Comparison Reports. Compares key financial ratios of this company against its industry and sector.
    • Stock Report
    • Income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows, all covering up to a 10 year period.

One Stop Report. Right above the Company Summary click on OneStop to create a custom report by selecting as many or as few of the options as desired.

Build a Company List.  This option is available from the Desktop (homepage) of the database. It also appears above all the CompanySummary pages..Select criteria from the list of options provided to create a list of companies that fit this criteria.  Lists of up to 5000 companies may be exported to Excel, while up to 1000 may be viewed.

For more details about using D&B Hoovers, consult the User Guide. On the Desktop (homepage), click on Support Portal, under Support at the top of the page. At the top of that page, click on USER GUIDE; it is available as a PDF or a web page.