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Company research report template free

Here’s a ready-to-use company research report template you can copy-paste into Google Docs, Word, or Notion right now. I’ve structured it for both quick tactical analysis and deep-dive strategic assessment.

Company Research Report Template

1. Executive Snapshot

One-page overview for busy stakeholders

  • Company: [Name + Ticker if public]
  • Industry: [Primary sector + sub-sector]
  • Founded: [Year] | Employees: [Count/Range]
  • Headquarters: [Location + Key offices]
  • Ownership: [Public/Private/Subsidiary] | Revenue: [Last reported/Estimated]
  • Report Date: [Date] | Analyst: [Your name]

Key Finding (The "So What")

[1-2 sentences: Why does this company matter to your goal? Partnership? Competitive threat? Investment?]

2. Business Model & Revenue Architecture

Primary Revenue Streams (Rank by % of revenue):

  1. [Stream 1]: [Description + margin profile if known]
  2. [Stream 2]: [Description]
  3. [Stream 3]: [Description]

Customer Segments:

  • Target: [Who pays them?]
  • Geographic Mix: [% US, % International, % Emerging markets]

Pricing Strategy: [Premium/Volume/Freemium/Enterprise SaaS/etc.]

3. Market Position & Competitive Landscape

Market Share: [X% of $Y billion market]

Competitive Matrix:

CompetitorStrengthThreat LevelTheir Moat vs. Target
[Comp A][What they do better]High/Med/Low[Differentiation]
[Comp B][What they do better]High/Med/Low[Differentiation]

Key Differentiators:

  • [Unique tech/patent/process]
  • [Network effects/Scale advantages]
  • [Brand/Regulatory moats]

4. Financial Health Check

Skip for pre-revenue startups; focus on runway/burn instead

MetricCurrent1-Year TrendIndustry AvgRed Flag?
Revenue Growth[X%][↑/↓/→][Y%][Yes/No]
Gross Margin[X%][↑/↓/→][Y%][Yes/No]
Operating Margin[X%][↑/↓/→][Y%][Yes/No]
Debt/Equity[Ratio][↑/↓/→][Y%][Yes/No]
Cash Runway[Months][↑/↓/→]N/A[Yes/No]

Liquidity Assessment: [Stable/At Risk/Critical]

5. Leadership & Culture

C-Suite:

  • CEO: [Name, tenure, previous wins/failures]
  • CFO/COO: [Key background info]
  • Founder Involvement: [Active/Advisory/Departed]

Culture Signals:

  • Glassdoor Rating: [X/5] — Top complaint: [Theme]
  • LinkedIn Insights: [Growth rate of headcount, avg tenure]
  • Recent Exits: [Key departures in last 12 months]

Strategic Priorities (From last earnings call/latest press):

  1. [Priority 1]
  2. [Priority 2]
  3. [Priority 3]

6. Risk Assessment Matrix

Risk CategorySeverity (1-5)LikelihoodEvidence/Mitigation
[Financial/Regulatory/Competitive/Tech][1-5]High/Med/Low[Specific data point]
[Supply chain/Talent/Market shift][1-5]High/Med/Low[Specific data point]

Deal-Breakers: [If any — e.g., "Pending litigation exceeding market cap"]

7. Recent Catalysts & Timeline

Last 90 Days:

  • [Date]: [Event/news + impact]
  • [Date]: [Product launch/acquisition/earnings]

Upcoming Events:

  • [Date]: [Earnings/Product launch/Regulatory decision]
  • [Date]: [Leadership conference/Investor day]

8. Strategic Recommendations

Tailor this section to your goal (Sales pitch / Partnership / Investment / Competitive response)

If Pursuing Partnership:

  • Entry Angle: [Which of their pain points can you solve?]
  • Decision Maker: [Title/Name if known]
  • Next Step: [Specific action]

If Competitive Analysis:

  • Their Weakness: [Where they’re vulnerable]
  • Our Counter: [How to exploit it]

Confidence Level: [High/Medium/Low] — Bias Check: [What could make this analysis wrong?]

9. Appendices

  • Sources: [Links to 10-K, earnings transcripts, Crunchbase, etc.]
  • Methodology Notes: [How you estimated private company revenue, etc.]

How to Fill This Out (Free Tools)

For Public Companies:

  1. SEC EDGAR (free) → 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K filings for financials
  2. Seeking Alpha (free tier) → Earnings call transcripts
  3. Google Finance/Yahoo Finance → Basic metrics and news aggregation

For Private Companies:

  1. Crunchbase (free tier) → Funding, founders, employee count
  2. LinkedIn → Headcount trends, leadership backgrounds, job postings (shows growth areas)
  3. Owler (free) → Estimated revenue and competitor mapping
  4. Wayback Machine → How their messaging/positioning has evolved

For Any Company:

  • Glassdoor → Culture/real salary data
  • G2/Capterra (for tech) → Customer sentiment and feature gaps
  • SimilarWeb (free tier) → Web traffic trends

Pro Tips for Actionability

  1. Time-box it: Spend max 2 hours on initial draft. Perfect is the enemy of useful.
  2. Write the "Key Finding" first: If you can’t articulate why you’re researching them in 2 sentences, you’re not ready to write the report.
  3. Use the "Red Team" test: Before finalizing, ask "If the CEO of this company read this, what would they argue with?" Add that nuance.
  4. Create a "Living Doc:" Set a Google Alert for the company name so your report stays current.

What specific type of company are you researching? (Public vs. private? Startup vs. enterprise? Competitor vs. prospect?)

Also, what’s your end goal — pitching them as a client, analyzing them as competition, investment due diligence, or something else? I can customize sections 6-8 specifically for your use case and suggest industry-specific data sources.

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