Filing

### The three that matter most The 10-K is the annual report, with audited financials. The 10-Q is the quarterly update, unaudited. The 8-K is the current report, filed when something material happens between the scheduled ones, and it is the one that catches traders out because it is fast. An 8-K is due within four business days of the triggering event, and it is filed by item number. Item 2.02 is results of operations, which is how earnings actually arrive. Item 1.01 is entry into a material definitive agreement. Item 5.02 is departure or election of directors and officers, which is the CEO-walks-out bombshell in its bureaucratic clothing. The scheduled reports scale with company size. The 10-K is due 60 days after fiscal year end for large accelerated filers, 75 for accelerated filers and 90 for everyone else. The 10-Q is due 40 days after quarter end for large accelerated and accelerated filers, 45 days for the rest. ### Beyond the big three - **Form 4.** Insider transactions. Officers, directors and anyone holding more than 10% of a class of shares must report their own trades within two business days of the transaction, per the SEC's bulletin on Forms 3, 4 and 5. Two days is close to live. - **Schedule 13D.** Someone crossing a 5% stake with intent to influence the company. Since the SEC's 2023 amendments to beneficial ownership reporting, the initial filing is due within five business days. - **Form 13F.** Quarterly holdings of institutional managers with at least $100 million in qualifying exchange-listed securities, due within 45 days of quarter end. ### The mistake Treating 13F as a signal. It can be a month and a half stale by the time you read it, so the "position" you are copying may already be closed. It is history, not a heads-up. Form 4 and the 8-K are where the timing actually lives. ### Where to read them EDGAR, on sec.gov, free. There is a real-time feed of filings as they are submitted, and full-text search across everything filed electronically since 2001. No paywall, no subscription, no data vendor. The information is public and the deadlines are fixed. The edge is not access. It is the reading.