Company Financial Reports
Module 5 · Financial Statements · Lesson 2
How to Find and Read Company Financial Reports
A company report tells you what the business reported for a specific period and what changed. Start with the filing type and date, then connect the numbers with management’s explanation, notes, and risks.
Quick answer
Where do you find a public company’s reports?
Search the company’s name or ticker in the SEC’s free EDGAR database. For a U.S. reporting company, open a Form 10-K for its annual report or a Form 10-Q for a quarterly update. Check the filing date and the period the report covers; those dates answer different questions.
Which filing should you open first?
A Form 10-K gives an annual view with audited financial statements, business and risk disclosures, and management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A). A Form 10-Q updates the picture for a quarter with unaudited financial statements, MD&A, and risk updates where required. Choose the 10-K when you need the fuller annual baseline, then use the latest 10-Q to see what changed after that year ended. A company’s fiscal year may not match the calendar year.
What do 8-Ks and proxy statements add?
A Form 8-K reports specified important events or information between scheduled reports; read the item heading and any exhibits to understand what the company actually disclosed. A definitive proxy statement (DEF 14A), when filed, can explain matters put to shareholders, directors, governance, and executive compensation. Those documents answer different questions from the annual and quarterly financial statements. A press release or investor presentation may help you navigate, but follow its references back to the filed documents.
How do you read a 10-K efficiently?
First record the company, fiscal year, filing date, currency, and units. Read the business description and risk factors to understand what management says the company does and what could go wrong. Then read MD&A for management’s explanation of results, liquidity, and known uncertainties. Review the audited financial statements and notes for the reported amounts and accounting details. Return to a risk or claim that matters to your question rather than treating a single ratio as a verdict.
How do you compare a 10-Q with the earlier 10-K?
Check which quarter and year-to-date periods each table covers. Compare like periods, look for changes in revenue, costs, cash, debt, and disclosures, and check the notes for explanations. Quarterly statements are generally unaudited; that does not make them useless, but it is a distinction from the annual audited statements. If the filing refers to a restatement or amendment, read the updated filing before relying on an older figure.
What should you do when a number or disclosure looks unusual?
Find the line item in the statements, read its note, and check what MD&A says about the change. Search recent 8-Ks for relevant events, then compare the same measure over a suitable earlier period. Note any estimate, changed accounting method, acquisition, or one-time event described by the company. The filing is evidence of what the company reported; it does not predict the next share price or settle whether an investment suits you.
What is the most common filing-date mistake?
The day a report was submitted to EDGAR is not the end of the financial period it describes. A report filed after year-end can contain results from months earlier. Write down both dates before comparing it with news or another company.
Apple: find the right section in its FY2025 10-K
Year ended September 27, 2025; filed October 31, 2025.
| Research question | Section | Printed page |
|---|---|---|
| What could go wrong? | Item 1A: Risk Factors | 5 |
| How does management explain the results? | Item 7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis | 21 |
| Where are the audited statements and notes? | Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data | 28 |
- Open the specific FY2025 filing and record both the year-end and filing date.
- Use the table of contents to locate Item 1A, Item 7 and Item 8. Printed pages differ from a browser or PDF viewer’s screen number.
- For one research question, connect a risk in Item 1A with management’s discussion and the relevant statement or note. Record the section and page for each finding.
The filing date is when the report reached EDGAR; the reporting date identifies the period described. These locations illustrate this particular filing, rather than promising that every company’s pages are identical.
Sources: Apple FY2025 Form 10-K, table of contents, SEC filing index: filing date and period of report
Check your understanding
1. Which filing is the usual annual baseline for a U.S. reporting company?
A. Form 8-K. B. Form 10-K. C. DEF 14A.
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B. The 10-K contains the annual business, risk, and audited financial disclosures.
2. What is the main purpose of a Form 8-K?
A. To report specified events between scheduled reports. B. To replace every 10-Q. C. To guarantee the next year’s earnings.
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A. An 8-K discloses a particular event or information; read its item and exhibits for the details.
3. Before comparing two reported figures, what should you check?
A. Only the share price. B. The filing date alone. C. The reporting periods, units, and any revisions.
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C. Different periods, units, or amended amounts can make an apparent change misleading.
Why question: Why might a recent filing describe an older financial period?
Show a sample explanation
The filing date is when the document reached EDGAR; the reporting period identifies when the underlying business activity happened. They are separate dates.
Trace Apple’s reports in EDGAR
Open the SEC EDGAR search prefilled for Apple. Find its latest 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and, if available, DEF 14A. Record each filing date and what period or event it covers. In the 10-K, find one risk factor and its MD&A section; in the 10-Q, check whether that risk was updated. Write one sentence explaining how the 8-K’s purpose differs. Use the current filings rather than a figure quoted in this lesson.
Where can you check the filing definitions?
- SEC Investor.gov: Using EDGAR to Research Investments
- SEC Investor.gov: How to Read a 10-K or 10-Q
- SEC Investor.gov: How to Read an 8-K
- SEC Investor.gov: Corporate Reports
End of Lesson · Continue to the Income Statement
AI responses are for educational purposes. Always verify with official course materials.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
Sources and reference material
Primary sources and original reference material for the concepts discussed on this page.
- Apple Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (year ended September 27, 2025), filed October 31, 2025
- www.sec.gov — 0000320193 25 000079 index.htm
- SEC EDGAR: Apple company filings
- SEC Investor.gov: Using EDGAR to Research Investments
- SEC Investor.gov: How to Read a 10-K or 10-Q
- SEC Investor.gov: How to Read an 8-K
References added 14 October 2026.
AI responses are for educational purposes. Always verify with official course materials.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
This lesson teaches a concept. It is general education, not advice about your money. Before you act on anything you learn here, speak to someone licensed.
