In the old days, analysts and serious investors had to order copies of company SEC filings, incur substantial costs and wait for the documents. Or else they could visit the SEC library or one of the few other libraries that kept microfiche copies of filings. You can access all this information for free at the SEC s own web site. It s a great improvement, but this is not the easiest site to use and it can still be a chore to wade through a dozen documents to find the specific information you want about a company. If you want to compare all the companies in an industry, or keep track of all coming IPOs, then the job is still formidable.
Revenues come from advertising and subscription fees.
In the future, additional sales are likely to be derived from corporate services, custom searches and e-commerce. For the same reason people buy prepared dinners rather than preparing their own time and convenience. With the SEC s regular data base, there is a delay of several days before filings become accessible. They also are entitled to a new service called IPO Express. Management says it is adding 40 to 50 new paid subscribers every day and that the retention rate is very high.