20,30,40 year balance sheet/income statement?

[Stockowner]

I think it would be interesting to see the historical balance sheet and income statements of Wal Mart, Microsoft, two companies that have not existed that long but are now very big and mature companies.

But do financial statements going way back, even exist? Up until a certain size, companies do not have to make their financial statements public, right? So, anyways, is there a way one can get decades of balance sheet and income statements in regards to various companies?

Thanks :)

[joshuat]

Edgar, the free SEC electronic database, goes back to 1994 or so. For further back, you can write to the SEC and request the filings. They are happy to do so, for 24 cents a page or so. Generally, companies will do the same thing. I know there used to be document services that provided this stuff as well, presumably they still exist.

But the main source of this kind of data are the big electronic databases - Compustat, the Value Line Database, etc. You will be paying big bucks for this kind of access; in the order of 5 digits for a year.

This all stands to reason; companies didn't used to file electronically. So, to get data, you either need to photocopy paper, or convert the data into digital. Neither of those are going to come free.

p.s. you might check your local library for access. If you are in school, or know somebody who is, you may be able to get access to Computstat or the like. It would help if that school's name was along the lines of "Columbia" or "Wharton" :)