TCOM 480 Critical Media Industry Studies--Nichols: Annual Reports
Annual Reports & 10-Ks
The Annual Report to Shareholders (ARS) is the principal document used by major corporations to communicate directly with their shareholders. It is different from the 10-K report which is also the Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. ARS may also be called the Summary Annual Report.
ARS is not a required SEC filing; it contains information (usually annual financial statements) that are referenced by the company's 10-K filing. Also included in most annual reports is information about the company's business, sales and marketing, and analysis of the company's condition made by the CEO.
Other SEC filings reveal important information as well.
- The form 10-Q includes unaudited financial statements and provides a continuing view of the company's financial position during the year.
- The form 8-K is the “current report” companies must file with the SEC to announce major events that shareholders should know about..
- DEF 14A form or " proxy statements," may include executive compensation information.
- Other forms are listed here.
Locate Reports
- SEC | EDGAR Company FilingsFree access to more than 21 million filings from publicly traded companies. Search for the company's official name, Ticker, or CIK, rather than its common name. Then select 10-K for the annual report, or 10-Q for the quarterly report.
- AnnualReports.com65,768 annual reports from 5,446 companies worldwide
- Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Extensive information on U.S. and international public companies, including financials, stock, properties, and SEC filings. - ProQuest Historical Annual Reports This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Corporate annual reports, 1844-2008.
How to read an annual report
Ticker Symbol
Ticker Symbol: A ticker symbol is an abbreviation that symbolizes the companies' stock name. For example, the Walt Disney Company uses DIS as its ticker symbol. This symbol will allow you to quickly search the Security Exchange Commission Website. Find the ticker symbol for a company.
