Why Review SEC Filings and the Annual Report?
Companies must file regular reports with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to sell shares on major stock exchanges. These reports include detailed descriptive information on products, organization, distribution and risk factors ,as well as financial statements.
A company's annual report to stockholders is often more of a public relations tool. A key portion is the President's Letter that will highlight major events and strategies. Many companies now append the Form 10-K report to the letter to form the annual report.
SEC's EDGAR database may also have financials for private company in the early stages of filing with the SEC for an initial public offering (IPO).
Key SEC filings to review are:
- Annual Report to Stockholders for the President's letter;
- 10K annual form for operations insight (business description--distribution channels, competition, risk factors & more--and management discussion) as well as financials
- 10Q quarterly report
Alternatives to the Annual 10-K are:
- S-1 initial registration filing for IPOs & new registrants
- 20-F reports for non-US companies
- SEDAR reports for Canadian companies.
If not at the company's web site, sources below provide SEC and related filings: