10-K / 10-Q / 8-K
Definition · Level 9 · Valuation
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SEC filings: the audited annual report, the unaudited quarterly report, and the current report for material events such as earnings releases, deals or executive changes.
Example
“Read the risk factors in the annual; the CFO exit came out in a current report.”
Rules and market figures change: check the current ones before relying on this.
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 9 · Valuation, in the lesson “Earnings season language”: Consensus, beats and misses, guidance, whispers, filings and adjusted numbers.
Related terms
- Beat / missReporting results above / below analysts’ expectations; quoted separately for revenue and EPS, often with the size of the surprise.
- ConsensusThe average or median of sell-side analysts’ published estimates — the bar a reported quarter is judged against.
- Earnings seasonThe roughly six-week stretch after each quarter ends when most listed companies report results.
- GuidanceManagement’s own forecast for coming periods (revenue, EPS, margins, capex).
- Margin expansion / compressionA rise or fall in profit as a share of revenue (gross, operating or net), usually quoted in basis points year over year.
- Non-GAAP“Adjusted” figures that strip out items such as stock comp, acquired-intangible amortization or restructuring, reconciled to the rule-based numbers.