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Company Research: Financials & Annual Reports

SEC Filings

The SEC (Securities & Exchange Commision) is the body that oversees all US stock exchanges.

Companies filing with the SEC  :

  • U.S. publicly-traded parent companies
  • international companies traded on a U.S. stock exchange

The report you will find most useful is called a 10-K. This is an official audited document filed annually by a publicly traded company with the SEC. This report is the basis for a company's annual report and often serves as a company's annual report. It is also the source of the financial statements found in our databases and is often the most current source of financial information.

The 10-K includes a business overview, risk factors, legal proceedings, selected financial data, management's discussion/analysis, corporate structure and subsidiaries, financial statements and footnotes, auditor's report, directors, executive officers and corporate governance, executive compensation, and more. Often you may find segment, market share information, key brands, etc.

EDGAR (the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) is a database which performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please note that not all documents filed with SEC are available on EDGAR.

In addition, check Investor Relations pages on a company's website to locate its SEC filings.

  Researching Public Companies through EDGAR

 

Annual Reports

Most companies no longer print and distribute an annual report. Generally you will be directed to the electronic version of the 10-K report instead. Some will have a short version of a report or a letter from the CEO. If a company does produce an annual report you may be able to obtain a copy by calling the corporation's investor relations department or by going to the corporation's website. These databases include annual reports and/or 10-K reports:

Annual Reports-Web Sources

The quickest way to get the annual report for a company, is to go to the company web site and look under Investor Relations. The company's web site often contains current and past annual reports. You can obtain a print copy of a company's annual report by calling the corporation's investor relations department.

Listed below are some websites that offer annual reports. Corporate Reports Online has annual reports from 1800-1975.

Coordinator of Access & Public Services

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Ken Johnson
Contact:
Coordinator of Access & Public Services
Appalachian State University
Belk Library & Information Commons
ASU Box 3206 Boone, NC 28608
828 262-2776
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