Corporate Annual Reports

Publicly owned companies are required by law to issue annual reports to their stockholders. These reports provide an overview of a company's operations, products, new developments and financial affairs. Annual reports include consolidated balance sheets and income statements.

Online Sources

Mergent - US and international public companies. Covers up to 15 years of financial data, including annual reports in pdf format and SEC filings. Log off after using! - For SEC filings, use the "EDGAR" search option.

SEC Filings & Reports (via LexisNexis) Includes 10-K reports and proxy statements.

EDGAR – Freely searchable database produced by the Securities & Exchange Commission. A description of the various forms that companies must file is available at: http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/forms/edgform.htm

Annual Reports.com

Company website: Many public companies provide access to their annual reports and SEC filings on their websites. Look for a link to "Investor Relations" or "Corporate Information."

Circulating Annual Reports

Paper or "hard copy" annual reports from Fortune 500 companies and selected Michigan firms for the years 1997 through 2003 are kept in the black file cabinets located in the southwest corner of the 2nd floor.  (We no longer acquire these print reports.) The print reports may be checked out for one week.

Microfiche Annual Reports

Annual reports from companies listed on the New York and American stock exchanges and selected ones from the OTC market are available in the Corporate Microfiche Collection. The library has copies of reports from 1978 to 1997. This microfiche collection is also located in the southwest corner of the 2nd floor. To locate an annual report in the microfiche collection, first use the SEC File indexes, which are kept on top of the microfiche cabinet. Look up your company; look for the symbol AR (annual report) and note the microfiche card number. See example below:

                                AR 06-30-86 86-1078(E)
                                AR = Annual Report
                                6-30-86 = Date of Annual Report
                                86-1078 = Microfiche Card No.
                               (E) = Location on Microfiche

Note: The Library has annual reports (ARs and ARKs), some 10Ks beginning with 1994 and, prior to 1982, proxy statements (PX).

Use the microfiche number (Example: 86-1078) to locate the fiche in the cabinet. The microfiche may be viewed and copies made in the Microforms Area in the north wing on the main level.

Created on 4/85 by Linda Hildebrand, / Last updated on 9/4/08 by Marilyn Jereau