Publicly traded companies (those which sell stock) must provide financial data and other information to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) periodically.  As of November 4, 2002, foreign companies and foreign governments have been required to file their documents on the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR).

The SEC's EDGAR filings are publicly available and serve as the basis for the financial data in many resources.  Company filings and annual reports are often the only sources of unique, valuable information on a specific business and concisely capture a company’s situation at a given point in time. SEC filings disclose additional, revealing information than annual reports to shareholders.

SEC Filings and Forms (EDGAR)
Free access to SEC's EDGAR filings since 1993

Company Databases That Include SEC (EDGAR) Filings:

• Mergent Intellect
  Access company filings either under the SEC filings, or the Annual Report sections within a company's profile.

• Mergent Online by FTSE Russell
  Easily access recent and historical filings within the individual company profiles.

• Mergent Archives
  Supplementing Mergent Online, Mergent Archives provides a full-image collection of over 500,000 historical, global company filings and annual reports (in color) as far back as the late 1800s, depending on the company.  The collection is updated daily. Documents are fully searchable. 

• Refinitiv Workspace
  Follow the instructions to register for an account. Use the search bar within to find your company profile. Click on the Filings section.
   
• S & P NetAdvantage
  Type the company name or ticker symbol to retrieve the company's profile. Choose the SEC Filings link in the left column of the profile.
   

Older Annual Filings

Not in Mergent Archives?  Selected, older annual filings exist on microfiche, under the SEC files and Q files. Check the accompanying index for coverage, beginning with the 1980s.  Allow time for delivery of film from the Libraries Service Center.

SEC files and Q files
Micro-fiche C no. 296

• 10-K Reports: Comprehensive annual reports filed 90 days after a company's fiscal year ends.

• 10-Q Reports: Quarterly updates filed for each of the first three fiscal quarters.

• 8-K Reports: A report of unscheduled material events or corporate changes deemed of importance to shareholders or to the SEC.  Provides more current details on certain events than the 10-K or 10-Q reports. Generally must be filed within 15 days of the specified event. 

• 20-F Reports: Annual report/registration statement filed by most foreign issuers of securities traded in the U.S.  Must be filed six months after the fiscal year ends.

• Proxy Statements: Official notification to a company's shareholders of matters to be voted upon at the company's annual meeting. Includes some salary and biographical information for top executives (salaries are higher in actuality).

• Prospectus: A document that must be made available to investors before the sale of any security is initiated.

• Registration Statements: These are used to register securities before they are offered to investors and to permit trading among investors.

• Williams Act Filings: Forms which are submitted to provide disclosure for the purchase, by direct acquisition or tender offer, of substantial blocks of the securities of publicly held companies.

Need Others?  Contact the business librarian for a complete list of filings.

Major corporations use these attractive, annual, public relations documents to communicate directly with their shareholders.

Reports offer insight on their mission, lines of business, products, growth, productivity, stability, performance, strengths, corporate structure, management, intellectual property and relationships with other businesses. Company filings and annual reports are often the only sources of unique, valuable information on a specific business and concisely capture a company’s situation at a given point in time.
 

Sources for Obtaining Annual Reports to Shareholders

• Mergent Intellect
  Access these shareholder reports under the Annual Report section within a company's profile.

• Mergent Online by FTSE Russell
  Provides the most recently available annual reports for international and U.S. companies in full-image online. Search by company and select the Reports tab for annual reports.
   
• Mergent Archives
  Supplementing the recent company filings and annual reports in Mergent Online, Mergent Archives provides a full-image collection of over 500,000 historical, global company filings and annual reports (in color) as far back as the late 1800s, depending on the company.  The collection is updated daily. Documents are fully searchable.  
   
• Individual companies
  Check a company's website (under Investor Relations links) or request a copy. Often a company will provide one for free.
   
• PRARS (Public Register's Annual Report Service)
  free reports mailed within one business day