Form 10-K

Form 10-K Overview

The form 10-k is a summary of a company’s performance over a year.  The report must be filed within 60 days after the end of the fiscal year.  Law by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission requires the 10-K.  The 10-K must be submitted to shareholders at a company’s annual meeting to elect directors.  A big misconception regarding the 10-K is that it only has to be filed by public companies.  The law requires that any company with more than $10 million in assets and whose securities are held by more than 500 owners must file the annual report.  The truth of the matter is that if a Initially the 10-K could be filed with the SEC within 90 days of the fiscal year, but that timeframe was shortened to 60 days in 2002.  This shortening was a result of the Final Rule, which changed the filing deadlines and requirements for companies.  A company’s 10-K filing can be found in the SEC’s EDGAR database.  In addition to the company’s filing on the database, shareholders can request a copy of the 10-K from the company directly and the company must provide a copy by law.  Most companies provide the 10-K report on their investors section of their website.  The primary purpose of the 10-K report is to provide investors with information about the company to assist in the process of determining whether a stock should be purposed.  The 10-K is the foundation for fundamental analysis. 

Contents of Form 10-K

The 10-K form contains a wealth of information of a company’s financial picture.  The form also includes details of a company’s operations, subsidiaries, organizational structure, and legal proceedings.   Many investors make the mistake of going directly to the numbers and not reading the details of a company’s form 10-K.  This of course defeats the purpose of providing such level of detail to investors.