Reading SEC forms: 8-K, 6-K, 10-Q and more
How to Find a Company's Latest 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K Filings
How to find a company's latest 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K on SEC EDGAR or Signal8, tell filing date from period, spot amendments, and know when the next one is due.
The short version
A US public company's three core reports are the annual 10-K, the quarterly 10-Q and the current report, the 8-K. To find the latest of each, open the company's filing list (on SEC EDGAR or on its Signal8 company page), filter by form type, and read the top row. The newest filing is the one with the latest filing date, not the latest period.
Two details trip people up. First, a filing's period (the quarter or year it covers) is not the date it was filed, and the gap is weeks. Second, a form with "/A" on the end is an amendment to an earlier filing, not a new report. This guide walks through both, plus the foreign-issuer equivalents and how to tell when the next report is due.
What each form is for
| Form | What it covers | How often |
|---|---|---|
| 10-K | Full-year audited financial statements, business description, risk factors | Once a year |
| 10-Q | Unaudited quarterly financial statements for the first three fiscal quarters | Three times a year |
| 8-K | A specific event: a deal, an offering, an executive change, earnings, a delisting notice | Whenever an event triggers it |
There is no 10-Q for the fourth quarter. The 10-K covers it. So a company that reports on a calendar year files three 10-Qs and one 10-K, plus however many 8-Ks its year produces. A busy small cap can file dozens of 8-Ks a year, which is why filtering by form type matters: the latest 10-Q can be twenty rows down a list dominated by 8-Ks and Form 4 insider filings.
Finding them on SEC EDGAR
- Go to EDGAR company search and type the company name or ticker.
- On the company's filing page, set the form-type filter to
10-K,10-Qor8-K. - The list is sorted newest first. The top row is the latest filing of that type.
- Open the filing index and then the primary document (the one whose type matches the form).
Each filing has a unique accession number, and the company has a permanent CIK. If you are referencing a filing later, save the accession number rather than a date: two filings of the same form can be made on the same day. The EDGAR search guide covers CIKs, accession numbers and full-text search in more detail.
Filing date versus period of report
Every filing has at least two dates:
- Period of report: the date the financial statements run to (for example, June 30 for a second-quarter 10-Q) or the date of the event (for an 8-K).
- Filing date: the day the SEC accepted it.
A worked example for a hypothetical Company X with a December 31 fiscal year end and non-accelerated filer status:
| Filing (hypothetical) | Period | Due | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-K | Dec 31, 2025 | Mar 31, 2026 (90 days) | Mar 30, 2026 |
| 10-Q, Q1 | Mar 31, 2026 | May 15, 2026 (45 days) | May 14, 2026 |
| 10-Q, Q2 | Jun 30, 2026 | Aug 14, 2026 (45 days) | Aug 13, 2026 |
| 8-K | Event on Mon, Sep 7, 2026 | Fri, Sep 11, 2026 (4 business days) | Sep 9, 2026 |
Hypothetical dates, for illustration only.
On September 15, 2026, Company X's "latest 10-Q" is the Q2 report filed August 13, even though it describes a quarter that ended in June. If you sort by period instead of filing date, an amendment filed this week to last year's 10-K can look older than it is, or a late filing can look newer.
The deadlines depend on filer status: large accelerated filers get 60 days for the 10-K and 40 days for a 10-Q, accelerated filers 75 and 40, everyone else 90 and 45. The 10-Q and 10-K reading guide has the full table. An 8-K is due within four business days of the event in most cases.
Amendments, late filings and foreign issuers
Amendments
A form ending in "/A" (10-K/A, 10-Q/A, 8-K/A) amends a filing already made. It might restate numbers, add Part III information that was incorporated from the proxy, or attach financial statements for an acquisition. It is not the company's next periodic report. When you want the latest 10-Q, look at the newest original 10-Q, then check whether any 10-Q/A filed after it changes it.
Late filings
If a company cannot file on time, it files a Form 12b-25 notice, which appears on EDGAR as NT 10-K or NT 10-Q. That buys 15 extra calendar days for a 10-K and 5 for a 10-Q. An NT filing in place of the expected report is itself information about the company; the late filing guide explains what it can mean.
Foreign private issuers
Many non-US companies listed in the US do not file 10-Ks, 10-Qs or 8-Ks at all:
| US domestic form | Foreign private issuer equivalent |
|---|---|
| 10-K | 20-F (or 40-F for some Canadian issuers) |
| 10-Q | No direct equivalent; interim results often arrive on a 6-K |
| 8-K | 6-K |
A 20-F is due four months after fiscal year end. If you search a foreign issuer for 10-Qs and find none, that is expected, not a gap. The 6-K guide covers how to read them.
When is the next one due?
You can estimate the next periodic report from the last period and the filer's deadline:
- Last 10-Q covered the quarter ended June 30 and the company is a non-accelerated filer. The next quarter ends September 30, so the Q3 10-Q is due by November 14.
- If the September quarter is the fiscal fourth quarter, there is no 10-Q: the next report is the 10-K, due 60, 75 or 90 days after year end depending on filer status.
The fiscal year end is printed on the cover page of every 10-K and 10-Q, and it is not always December. Retailers often end their year in late January or early February.
How to check a company on Signal8
- Open any company's Filings tab, for example Apple's filings, and filter by form type to see the latest 10-K, 10-Q or 8-K at the top. Each row links to the filing on EDGAR.
- Use the SEC filings search to search filing text across companies, filtered by form.
- To be notified when a company files instead of checking by hand, set a watchlist alert:
FAQ
How do I find a company's most recent 10-Q?
Open the company's filing list on SEC EDGAR or on its Signal8 company page, filter the form type to 10-Q, and take the top row, since the list is sorted by filing date. Check whether a 10-Q/A was filed afterwards, because an amendment can change the numbers in the original.
What is the difference between the filing date and the period of report?
The period of report is the date the financial statements cover, such as June 30 for a second-quarter 10-Q. The filing date is when the SEC accepted the document, which for a 10-Q is usually 40 to 45 days later. The latest filing is the one with the newest filing date.
Why can't I find a 10-K for a foreign company?
Foreign private issuers usually file an annual report on Form 20-F, or Form 40-F for some Canadian companies, instead of a 10-K. Their current reports and interim results arrive on Form 6-K rather than 8-K and 10-Q. Search for those form types instead.
How long does a company have to file an 8-K?
Generally four business days after the triggering event. Some items have different timing; for example, information furnished under Regulation FD has its own rules, and earnings releases are often furnished on the same day they are published.
See it on DilutionScan
Companies DilutionScan covers, with the instruments read from their SEC filings. Open one to see each instrument and the filing it came from.
- GNSGenius Group Limited8 warrant series, 1 convertible, 1 ATM program, 3 shelf registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
- SMXSMX (Security Matters) Public Limited Company Ordinary Shares10 warrant series, 8 convertibles, 2 equity lines, 4 shelf registrations, 4 S-1 registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
- MLGOMicroAlgo, Inc. Ordinary Shares2 warrant series, 5 convertibles and 2 shelf registrations on file
- HOLOMicroCloud Hologram Inc. Ordinary Shares2 warrant series, 1 convertible, 3 shelf registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
Terms in this guide
- Form 10-Q
- A Form 10-Q is the quarterly report a US public company files for each of its first three fiscal quarters, with unaudited financial statements, due 40 or 45 days after quarter end.
- Form 8-K
- A Form 8-K is the SEC current report a public company files, generally within four business days, to disclose material events such as agreements, offerings, executive changes and listing notices.
- Form 4
- Form 4 is the SEC filing that officers, directors and holders of more than 10% must make within two business days to report a change in their holdings of the company's securities.
Related guides
- How to Search SEC EDGAR: CIKs and Accession NumbersHow to search SEC EDGAR: find any filing by company or CIK, read an accession number, and write full-text searches with quotes, OR and exclusions that work.
- How to Read a 10-Q and 10-K: Five Sections FirstHow to read a 10-Q or 10-K on a small cap. The five sections that show cash runway, going concern doubt and potential dilution, plus filing deadlines.
- 8-K Item Codes Explained: Items 1.01 to 9.018-K item codes explained: what Items 1.01, 2.03, 3.01, 3.02, 5.02 and 9.01 mean, the four-business-day rule, and the item combinations that flag a financing.
- SEC Filing Times: Acceptance Time vs Filing DateSEC filing times explained: acceptance time vs filing date vs period of report, the 5:30 p.m. ET EDGAR cutoff and its 10 p.m. exceptions, and why it matters.
- NT 10-K and NT 10-Q Late Filing Notices ExplainedNT 10-K and NT 10-Q explained: the Rule 12b-25 extension of 15 or 5 days, what the notice must disclose, and what happens if the report is still late.
- Form 6-K, 20-F and 40-F: Foreign Issuer FilingsForm 6-K, 20-F and 40-F explained: why foreign private issuers file 6-Ks instead of 8-Ks, when a 20-F is due, and how to read a 6-K with no item numbers.
Check any ticker for dilution
DilutionScan reads each covered company's SEC filings and lists its warrants, convertibles, ATM programs, shelves and S-1s on one page, with a dilution rating and cash runway.
This guide is from the Signal8 Academy, the research team behind DilutionScan. Educational content only. DilutionScan and Signal8 are not broker-dealers or investment advisers, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.