Guide on the Side: Form 10-K

This tutorial will explain:

What a Form 10-K is

How to find a company’s Form 10-K

Where to find a company’s official name, fiscal year end, headquarters, and business information using a Form 10-K.

You should be able to see this tutorial as a pop-up window on the left and a report for Coca-Cola in your browser on the right. Don't worry about the Coca-Cola report for now.

Use the arrows below to navigate through this tutorial. You can also use the "contents" box at the top of this rectangle to navigate among different parts of the tutorial. If needed, you can resize or move the tutorial box on the left to see the website on the right.

What are Form 10-Ks?

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Form 10-Ks are annual reports that the SEC requires publicly traded companies to file. They contain detailed information about the companies' financials.

Form 10-Ks are more formal and comprehensive than the annual reports to shareholders that many companies publish. Because they are filed with the government, all Form 10-Ks are in the Public Domain, and available to everyone.

What are Form 10-Ks?

2 of 6The annual report to shareholders is a less formal report used by most public companies to disclose corporate information to their shareholders. The annual report is generally a "state-of-the-company" report that is more visually appealing and may contain less comprehensive financial information than a Form 10-K.

What are Form 10-Ks?

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Look at the image below.

It's the first page of a document that the Coca-Cola company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is plain-looking and contains comprehensive financial information. Which is it?

Form 10-K annual report to shareholders

What are Form 10-Ks?

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Look at the image below.

It is one of the first pages of a document that the Coca-Cola company prepared for its shareholders. It contains selected financial information, along with a letter from the CEO and information about the company's future plans. It's also glossy and contains photos. Which is it?

Form 10-K annual report to shareholders

What are Form 10-Ks?

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Now that we've differentiated between a Form 10-K and a company's annual report to shareholders, let's focus on the Form 10-K.

A company's Form 10-K is an excellent place to start when researching a company because Form 10-Ks provide a lot of basic information. Once you locate the basics, you can find more in-depth information in library databases.

What are Form 10-Ks?

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Each company's website looks different, but the financial information for investors will be there if the company is publicly traded.

The financials for Coca-Cola are found under the "Investors" section on the company website (similar to this):

You will find various financial reports on the Investors page, including annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Finding Company Information

Now take a look at the Coca-Cola Form 10-K on the right side of the screen. You can use the Form 10-K to locate many pieces of company information, including the:

official company name
headquarters city
management's discussion and analysis
financial statements

Company Name

One of the first things to determine is the company’s official name, which should be listed above the words Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter.

What is the company's official name?

Coca-Cola, Inc. The Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola Company, Inc.

Headquarters City

You should also be able to see The Coca-Cola Company's headquarters city without looking very far.

Where is The Coca-Cola Company's headquarters located?

Washington, D.C. Atlanta, Georgia Dover, DE

Other Financial Information

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As you scroll through the Form 10-K, you'll see that it's divided into topics called Items.

We've just focused on the basics so far, but there is a lot of other useful information in a 10-K report. Item 1 is called 'Business'. This section contains a great deal of information about the company and its operations, including:

Business Segments
Information on Competitors
Product Supply Chain Information
Risk Factors to the Business
Employee Information

Other Financial Information

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It might be intimidating looking at a Form 10-K for the first time. But there are ways to make it easier to search:

Often, the document will have links or some sort of interactive feature to make browsing easier.
Additionally, you can use the ctrl+f “find” feature to search for individual words and phrases within the document such as, "competitor" or "supply chain."

Take a moment to scroll through the Form 10-K, paying special attention to Item 1.

Other Financial Information

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Congratulations! You've completed this tutorial. If you need additional help with business research, visit the library’s website or contact your Butler Business Librarian.

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