SEC filings for stock research: a plain guide
Every US-listed company files documents with the SEC, and they are free to read on the EDGAR database. They are the closest thing to a primary source for company research. They are also long, and it is not obvious which one answers which question. This guide is a map, not a recommendation about any company.
Key takeaways
- Each filing answers a different question and arrives on its own schedule, so every one is late or partial in its own way.
- Deadlines depend on the company's filer status, which is based on its public float.
- Read for change over time, and check the date a number describes.
| Filing | Filed by | Timing | Good for | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-K | The company | Yearly: 60 days after fiscal year end for large accelerated filers, 75 for accelerated filers, 90 for all others. Source | Business description, risks, audited statements, notes | Describes a year that ended weeks earlier; the company's own framing |
| 10-Q | The company | First three fiscal quarters only: 40 days after quarter end for large accelerated and accelerated filers, 45 for all others. Source | Latest interim statements and management discussion | Interim statements may be unaudited (Source); there is no 10-Q for the fourth quarter |
| 8-K | The company | Generally within four business days after the event. Source | Earnings releases, leadership changes, deals, defaults | Only events the form lists; read the exhibits |
| Proxy (DEF 14A) | The company | When the company asks holders to vote at a meeting. Source (Schedule 14A) | Pay, board, principal holders, matters voted on | Pay tables are formulaic and long |
| Form 4 | Officers, directors, holders of more than 10% | Before the end of the second business day after a transaction. Source | Insider purchases, sales, awards | Many entries are awards or tax withholding, not purchases |
| Schedule 13D / 13G | Holders of more than 5% of a class | 13D: within five business days after crossing 5%. 13G: depends on the filer type; qualified institutions file 45 days after the quarter end in which they cross 5%. Source (SEC Release 33-11253) | Who holds a large stake, and any stated intent (13D) | A stake, not a trade log; passive filers report less often |
| Form 13F | Institutional managers with at least $100 million in 13(f) securities | Within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Source | Long positions in listed Section 13(f) securities at quarter end | Short positions are not reported; up to 45 days old when filed |
Filer status decides the deadlines
The 10-K and 10-Q deadlines in the table depend on filer status. In the SEC's own summary, a large accelerated filer is generally a company with a public float of $700 million or more, and an accelerated filer one with a public float of $75 million or more but less than $700 million, among other conditions (SEC: Cutting through the jargon). A company that is neither is on the longest schedule. The same company can change status from one year to the next.
The annual report (10-K)
If you read one document, read the 10-K, and read it in a sensible order. The SEC's own walkthrough starts with the business description, so you know what the company actually sells, and then the risk factors; it notes the 10-K also contains the company's management discussion and financial statements (SEC: How to Read a 10-K). Much of the risk factor section is boilerplate, so look for what changed since last year. The notes to the statements are where revenue recognition, debt terms, leases and contingencies are explained, and they often matter more than the headline figures. The auditor's report and any "going concern" language deserve a direct look.
Quarterly reports and current reports
The 10-Q is a lighter update for each of the first three fiscal quarters, and its interim financial statements may be unaudited (17 CFR 210.10-01). The 8-K is the "something happened" form: an earnings release, a chief executive leaving, a loan default, a material agreement. Its exhibits often hold the real detail (SEC: How to Read an 8-K). Reading a few quarters of 8-Ks in a row is a quick way to see what a company has been through.
Who owns and who is trading
The proxy statement lists the board, executive pay and the principal holders of voting securities (17 CFR 240.14a-101, Schedule 14A). Form 4 shows insiders' trades, due before the end of the second business day after the trade. Form 13F shows long positions of managers with at least $100 million in Section 13(f) securities, filed within 45 days after each calendar quarter end; short positions are not included (Form 13F instructions, SEC 13F FAQ). Holders of more than 5% file Schedule 13D or 13G; since the 2023 amendments, a 13D is due within five business days after the stake crosses 5% (SEC Release 33-11253). Each of these answers "who", and each is late or partial in its own way.
Habits that help
- Compare across time. One filing is a snapshot; the change from the last one is the information.
- Separate fact from framing. The financial statements in the 10-K carry an auditor's report; the narrative is the company's choice of emphasis.
- Check the date a number describes. A quarter-end figure filed weeks later is not today's position.
- Look for amendments. A 10-K/A or Form 4/A changes what the original said.
- Keep non-US companies in mind. Foreign private issuers file different forms: an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the fiscal year end (Form 20-F) and Form 6-K furnished promptly once the material information is public (Form 6-K).
A routine for a company you do not know
- Open the latest 10-K and read the business description until you can say in one sentence how the company makes money.
- Skim the risk factors, then compare them with the previous year's. New or reworded risks are the useful part.
- Read the notes on revenue, debt and any legal proceedings. Look for anything described as material weakness or substantial doubt.
- List the 8-Ks from the last year. A run of financing or leadership-change filings tells a story the annual report summarises politely.
- Check the last few Form 4s and the latest proxy for who owns the shares and how management is paid.
- Write down three questions the filings did not answer. Those are your next research steps.
This takes time, and that is the point. Skipping to a screen result skips the part where you learn whether the company is something you understand.
What filings cannot do
Filings describe the past and the company's own view of it. They contain no valuation conclusion for you, and they do not tell you what the market already knows. A clean 10-K does not make a stock a good idea, and an alarming risk factor does not make it a bad one. Use them to check claims, find what changed and ask better questions.
Finding your way faster
EDGAR is complete but plain. The TellHawk Terminal puts SEC filings, insider trades, fund holdings and macro data for a ticker on one screen, each block with its source and date. Its Deep Search can search the text of the filing exhibits it holds, which covers 8-K press-release exhibits rather than every filing. The Academy has lessons on the Terminal's tools and the evidence behind them, with a free taster.
Sources checked
Primary sources, retrieved on 2026-10-12. Check the current form instructions before relying on a detail, because rules and deadlines change.
- SEC Form 10-K general instructions (60, 75 and 90 day deadlines)
- SEC Form 10-Q general instructions (40 and 45 day deadlines, no fourth-quarter 10-Q)
- 17 CFR 210.10-01 (interim financial statements may be unaudited)
- SEC Form 8-K general instructions (four business days)
- SEC Form 4 instructions (second business day)
- SEC Form 13F instructions (45 days, $100 million threshold) and 13F FAQ (short positions not reported)
- SEC Release 33-11253 (Schedule 13D and 13G deadlines)
- eCFR: Schedule 14A
- Form 20-F and Form 6-K
- SEC: Cutting through the jargon (filer status and public float)
- SEC: How to Read a 10-K and How to Read an 8-K