10-K and 10-Q: Where do you start reading a company's report card?
A report explaining what a company did and how much it earned over a year or a quarter.
Table of contents
Remember this first
First, 3 things to remember
- 1The 10-K is an annual report, and the 10-Q is a quarterly report.
- 2The filing date and the reference date for the figures are different.
- 3Start by looking at the business, revenue, cash, and risks.
The name sounds complicated, but it is just a company report.
The 10-K is a report reviewing 1 year, and the 10-Q is a quarterly report. A quarter is a 3-month period dividing 1 year into four. You can find them on EDGAR, the disclosure site of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
You do not have to read it from start to finish all at once. First, look at what they sell in the business description, revenue, profit, and cash in the financial statements, and what the challenges are in the risk disclosure.
A report released today does not necessarily reflect today's balance.
Figures as of the end of September may be filed in November. The cash balance normally refers to the September reporting date, not today’s bank balance.
Check whether the revenue is a total for 3 months or a cumulative figure from the start of the year. Comparing 3 months and 9 months directly is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Find the reason why the numbers have changed.
MD&A is the section where management explains changes in performance and financial condition. Rather than memorizing the acronym, remember it as "the place where the company explains why things increased or decreased."
Important contracts or capital increases may have been announced after the report. Checking the 8-K, which announces new events, can help you connect changes that occurred after the report's reference date.
You should not make such assumptions
“Is the cash amount in the 10-Q released today the current balance?”
This is the balance as of the date written in the financial statements. It is not the real-time balance on the day the document was uploaded.
Check what you have read.
- Have you distinguished between the date the report was filed and the reference date of the figures?
- Did you check whether it is for 3 months or cumulative?
- Have you also checked the disclosures released since then?
Apply what you read to the actual screen
Try it on WAPE
Source and scope of verification
Reviewed · Version 2
- How to Read a 10-KNew window
SEC Investor.gov · Verify 2026-10-20
Read the business, risk, financial, and management discussion. - Using EDGAR to Research InvestmentsNew window
SEC Investor.gov · Verify 2026-10-20
Distinction between registration documents, periodic reports, and material event disclosures · How to find and read original disclosure documents
This is educational material for observation and information comprehension. Hypothetical examples do not represent actual stocks or performance and do not provide buy or sell recommendations.