Glossary
Annual report
A company's yearly report to shareholders summarizing results; in the US the detailed regulatory version is the Form 10-K.
On this page
An annual report is the document a public company publishes each year to tell shareholders how the business performed, what its finances look like and what risks it faces. In the US the term covers two things: the glossy annual report to shareholders, which often opens with a letter from the chief executive, and the far more detailed Form 10-K that must be filed with the SEC. Many companies now simply wrap the 10-K in a short cover and send that.
What is inside a 10-K
The 10-K follows a standard layout, which makes it easy to find things once you know where to look:
- Business (Item 1): what the company does, its segments, customers and competitors.
- Risk factors (Item 1A): the risks management considers material.
- Management's discussion and analysis (Item 7): management's explanation of the year's results, trends and liquidity.
- Financial statements (Item 8): the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and statement of equity, with notes and the independent auditor's report.
Filing deadlines depend on company size: 60 days after fiscal year-end for large accelerated filers, 75 days for accelerated filers and 90 days for everyone else.
How to use it
Start with the MD&A and the segment table to see where revenue and profit come from, then read the risk factors for anything new compared with the prior year. The footnotes explain revenue recognition, debt terms, leases and stock compensation, details that headline numbers hide. All filings are free on the SEC's EDGAR database.