Is a 10-K the same as an annual report?

Close. The 10-K is the formal SEC filing. Many companies also publish a glossier annual report for shareholders, often with the 10-K bound inside it.

Where can I read a company's 10-K?

On the SEC's EDGAR database, free, and usually on the company's investor relations site.

A report a US company files within days of a major event, such as an acquisition, a change of chief executive or results being released.

Explained

10-K vs 10-Q

A 10-K is a US company's audited annual report to the SEC. A 10-Q is the shorter, unaudited quarterly report, filed for the first three quarters of the year.

10-K and 10-Q side by side
	10-K	10-Q
Covers	The full fiscal year	One quarter
Filed	Once a year	Three times a year; the fourth quarter is in the 10-K
Audited	Yes	No, reviewed by the auditor
Deadline	60 to 90 days after year end, by company size	40 to 45 days after quarter end, by company size
Length	Long: business, risks, full financials	Shorter: financials and changes since the 10-K

What is the difference between a 10-K and a 10-Q?

Scope and assurance. The 10-K is the full annual account: what the business does, the risks it sees, every segment's results, and financial statements an auditor has signed off. The 10-Q updates it for one quarter, with condensed financials and what has changed, and is reviewed rather than audited.

There is no fourth 10-Q. The last quarter's numbers are in the 10-K.

What about foreign companies?

A foreign company listed in the US usually files a 20-F once a year instead of a 10-K, and furnishes 6-K reports for interim news. Many European and Asian consumer companies report half-yearly at home rather than quarterly.

What a 10-K says about brands

Usually less than people expect. Consumer companies report by segment or region and name their largest brands, but seldom give sales for any one of them. A company with dozens of brands can describe them all in a page.

Brand numbers between the filings

This site adds up the brands each listed consumer company owns: their Instagram followers, the posts mentioning them, news and AI answers, refreshed every six hours. It is no substitute for a filing, and it is there on the days between them.

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10-K vs 10-Q: common questions

Is a 10-K the same as an annual report?: Close. The 10-K is the formal SEC filing. Many companies also publish a glossier annual report for shareholders, often with the 10-K bound inside it.
Where can I read a company's 10-K?: On the SEC's EDGAR database, free, and usually on the company's investor relations site.
What is an 8-K?: A report a US company files within days of a major event, such as an acquisition, a change of chief executive or results being released.

Not investment advice. Kovered publishes StockTwits watcher, sentiment and message volume readings and counts of public Reddit posts that name a stock or ETF, plus, for listed consumer companies, readings of the brands they own. It does not publish share prices, forecasts, ratings or recommendations to buy, sell or hold anything. Do your own research. Read the full notice.