How To Get Company Information

Once you have found some companies that 'potentially' fit your investment criteria you need to find out more detailed and specific information about them.

Have a look at our quotes section. Type in the ticker for the company you're looking at (use symbol lookup if you don't the company's ticker), and you'll find the share price, recent articles on the company and links to posts on the Fool's discussion boards. Here is an example for Vodafone (LSE: VOD).

Your next step should be to have a look at the company's website. Almost all listed companies now have an Internet presence, and the information on some is much better than on others. As a rule, the larger the company, the more investor-specific information is contained on the site.

How do you find a company's website? Not surprisingly, most companies try to have a website with a name similar to their own, for example Vodafone; is www.vodafone.com or www.vodafone.co.uk.

Or do a search on Google. Type in the company's name with the words "investor" and" information" and then follow the links.

Without doubt, the most useful piece of information a company can supply prospective investors is their annual report. Published once a year by every listed company, the annual report contains details of the company's latest operational and financial performance. Examining the annual report is an essential part to assessing the fundamentals of any company. You can also order free copies of annual reports through The Motley Fool Quotes page or by following this link.

Most companies provide a downloadable version of their latest annual report on their website. Some companies provide a historical record of reports going back a few years -- this enables you to judge the company's record in more detail. If there is only one report on the website, ring the company up and ask for older ones

If you want a quick overview of a company's figures and other information, once again go to the Fool's quotes section and click on fundamentals for a particular company. Here's an example for Tesco (LSE: TSCO). You'll see data for analyst forecast, directors' dealings and other good stuff.

Useful sites for news-hungry investors include NewsNow, the BBC, Citywire and Sharecast. Citywire is particularly good if you're looking at smaller companies.

Company Announcements is also well worth looking at. It publishes the original statements which listed companies have released to the stock exchange. Be aware that PR agencies will have had a hand in many of these releases, but it's still interesting to read what the company itself has said. Not what some journalist says the company has said.

But of course, if you're looking for opinion, then look no further than the Motley Fool. The Fool's message boards are widely recognised as being the best in the business. Numerous well-informed investors post their thoughts and other interesting links to help others evaluate a company's investment merits. The Foolish writers regularly venture their opinions on popular companies, too.

This concludes our introductory series on how to invest in shares. If you want to read more on this subject, see this compendium of articles. Happy investing!