Guides on reading SEC filings, understanding insider transactions, decoding financial statements, and getting the most out of public EDGAR data.
SEC EDGAR's structured financial data has become one of the most widely used datasets in empirical finance research. Here's how academics use it and what they've discovered.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is the primary federal regulator of U.S. capital markets. Understanding what it does — and doesn't do — provides essential context for reading SEC filings.
ASC 842 brought most leases onto the balance sheet. Understanding how lease obligations are now reported in 10-K filings changes how you should read corporate balance sheets.
Many international companies list their shares in the US and file with the SEC. Their disclosure framework differs from domestic companies — here's what you need to know.
SPACs — Special Purpose Acquisition Companies — became enormously popular in 2020–2021. Their EDGAR filings tell a unique story before and after a merger is completed.
The footnotes to the financial statements are where many of the most important disclosures are buried. Here's a guide to reading them efficiently and knowing which ones to prioritize.
Not all SEC registrants are operating businesses. Investment companies — mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds — file with the SEC under a different regulatory framework than operating companies.
Operating leverage measures how sensitive a company's profits are to changes in revenue. High operating leverage amplifies both upside and downside — and it shows up clearly in SEC filing data.
Dividend payments and policy changes are disclosed in SEC filings in multiple places. Here's how to find dividend history and evaluate dividend sustainability from 10-K data.
Share repurchases return capital to shareholders and reduce share count. SEC filings require detailed disclosure of buyback programs — here's where to find them and what they mean.
Operating income and net income both measure profitability, but they capture different things. Knowing when to use each metric makes financial analysis more precise.
SEC filings are the most reliable primary source for evaluating any public company. Here's a practical framework for using EDGAR data to build a research foundation before investing.
Goodwill is created when a company pays more for an acquisition than the fair value of its net assets. Large goodwill balances carry real impairment risk that balance sheet readers need to understand.
Each year, hundreds of companies file with the SEC for the first time — through IPOs, direct listings, SPACs, and other routes to public registration. Here's how to find and research them.
Not all red flags in SEC filings are obvious. Knowing what to look for — from auditor changes to related-party transactions — can help you avoid costly investing mistakes.
ASC 606 standardized how public companies recognize revenue across industries. Understanding the basics helps you interpret revenue figures in SEC filings more accurately.
Cluster buying — multiple insiders independently purchasing company stock within a short window — is considered a stronger signal than any single insider purchase. Here's why.
Shareholders' equity is the residual interest in a company's assets after deducting all liabilities. Understanding its components reveals how a company has financed itself and used its profits.
EDGAR's filing archive extends back to the early 1990s for most large companies. Here's how to use historical filings to reconstruct a company's full business history.
The independent auditor's report in every 10-K contains an opinion on the reliability of the financial statements. Most are clean — but when they're not, it matters enormously.