Guides on reading SEC filings, understanding insider transactions, decoding financial statements, and getting the most out of public EDGAR data.
Earnings per share is one of the most widely reported financial metrics. Understanding the difference between basic and diluted EPS — and its limitations — is essential for informed analysis.
Many analysts consider the cash flow statement the most reliable of the three financial statements. Here's how to read it from a 10-K and what each section tells you.
Every institutional investment manager with more than $100 million in AUM must disclose their equity holdings quarterly via Form 13F. Here's how to read and use these filings.
Working capital measures a company's short-term financial health. It's calculated directly from the balance sheet in every 10-K and tells you whether a company can cover its near-term obligations.
Every public company's financial performance is freely available through SEC EDGAR. Using it systematically lets you build a rigorous competitive analysis from primary sources.
Large companies often operate multiple business segments with very different financial profiles. Segment reporting in the 10-K breaks down where revenue and profit actually come from.
Executive pay is disclosed in detail in annual proxy statements and 10-K filings. Here's how to find it, read it, and evaluate whether it's aligned with shareholder interests.
Cash is the most liquid asset on a corporate balance sheet. Knowing how to interpret cash levels — and trends in cash — gives you insight into a company's financial flexibility.
When a company amends a previously filed 10-K or 10-Q, it adds the /A suffix. Understanding why companies refile and what to look for in amendments is an important research skill.
Single-year financial snapshots can be misleading. Tracking profitability over five or ten years from SEC filings reveals the true trajectory of a business.
XBRL — eXtensible Business Reporting Language — is the structured data format that makes SEC financial data machine-readable. Understanding it helps you see how financial databases are built.
When any investor crosses the 5% ownership threshold in a public company, they must file a Schedule 13D or 13G. These filings reveal who the major shareholders are and what they intend to do.
A going concern warning is one of the most serious flags an auditor can raise. Here's what it means, where to find it, and what it signals about a company's financial health.
Long-term debt appears on every corporate balance sheet. Understanding how to assess it — and when it becomes a concern — is essential for evaluating financial stability.
The balance sheet shows what a company owns and owes at a single point in time. Knowing how to read it from a 10-K is foundational for any fundamental analysis.
The DEF 14A proxy statement is the document companies send to shareholders before the annual meeting. It contains executive compensation, board composition, and shareholder vote proposals.
Every public company must disclose the material risks to its business in its annual 10-K filing. Understanding how to read risk factor disclosures is a core research skill.
Return on assets measures how efficiently a company uses its asset base to generate profit. It's one of the most useful cross-industry comparison metrics available from SEC data.
Consistent revenue growth is one of the most powerful signals of business health. Here's how to read and analyze revenue trends directly from SEC 10-K data.
The S-1 is the registration statement a company files with the SEC before going public. It contains everything investors need to evaluate a new public offering.