Companies regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclose financial results and other information in regular filings with the SEC. This is public information. Some of the most useful documents are described below.
Form 10-K Reports
Filed annually by United States and Canadian companies trading on US stock exchanges, while foreign companies file a 20-F Report. They contain more detailed descriptions of the business, major properties, financial data; brief descriptions of the competition, distribution, crucial commodities, and legal proceedings; and sometimes supplemental financial statements and legal documents. Balance sheets, income statements, management discussions and financial footnotes may be at the end of the report or in a separate 10K/A. Late filings are numbered 10K 405.
Annual Reports to Shareholders
These are public relations documents that provide information on the products and services of a company with financial statements and other information. The president's letter often summarizes changes, major accomplishments and strategic issues, and outlook for the coming year. Sections of the stockholders' reports are often included in annual Form 10-K reports and 10-K A amendments. Full reports are often available from the company web sites, or library databases.
Quarterly Reports and Proxy Statements
The 10-Q is a brief quarterly statement filed by companies to update their annual reports. Proxy statements are voting documents prepared for the annual stockholders meetings and often include biographies of executives and directors. Current proxy and 10-Q reports are available at EDGAR sites or Thomson Research. Older reports can be retrieved using LexisNexis Academic in the Business section under SEC filings.
Initial Public Offering Prospectus
When a company wants to issue an initial public offering (IPO) and sell stock on one of the exchanges, they must file a Registration Statement, usually a Form S-1. These statements must include up to 3 years of annual financial statements as well as other information typically found in annual 10-Ks and can be found via IPOCentral.
Older SEC Filings and Annual Reports
Babson offers an archived collection of 10-Ks and Annual Reports to Shareholders plus Proxies and Prospectus on the first floor of the library:
| NYSE companies | 1972-1990 |
| all other SEC companies | 1978-1990 |
The Form 10-K microfiche usually include the annual report either in its main set of fiche or as one of its 10-K A or SE reports. (The blue-labeled SEC filings contain the EDGAR 10-K filed by selected companies.) Hold the fiche up to the light and scan for photos to easily locate the annual report at the end.
See also: Obtaining SEC Filings | Additional Filing Types 
