SEC Filings
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency that enforces securities laws, and regulates the securities industry. The SEC was created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which was passed by Congress in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, to protect investors from fraud and enforce transparency regarding the risks and rewards of investing.
Issues of securities to investors in more than one state must be registered with the SEC. Financial services companies that invest money for clients are also required to register with the SEC.
Public companies are required by law to periodically file financial disclosure documents with the SEC. These reports are available to the public through the SEC's EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis & Retrieval) system. EDGAR offers public filings of securities starting from 1996. Furthermore, pubic companies usually provide electronic copies of their SEC filings for at least the past few years on their own website, on the Investor Relations page.
Print Resources at NYPL
Pre-EDGAR 10-K reports are available in microform from 1978 to 1996 with the call number *XLF-456.
Annual reports before 1956 are in hard copy and are found in the Catalog of the Research Libraries (by the corporate name); 1956-1968 (microcard); 1969-1977, 1996 (microfiche) are listed by call number *XLF-456.
As a result of the Sarbannes Oxley Law of 2002 most companies send a 10-K report to all shareholders, combining it with their annual report. Recent annual reports/10K reports are available from the websites of most publicly-held companies.
A scarcer source of financial information about public companies is the microfilm set of Listing Statements of the New York Stock Exchange (Call number *ZAN-T646).
Beginning in 1884 these statements publish financial and other information required prior to a company’s listing on the NYSE, a little like an IPO statement. The Library subscribed to this compilation until 1968. Identification of the reel containing your company requires the use of the Index, a copy of which appears here: http://libguides.mit.edu/ld.php?content_id=6600288
Electronic Resources at NYPL
The following databases available through SIBL include EDGAR filings and annual reports for public companies. EDGAR filings start at 1996 or later. Mergent Archives offers annual reports in PDF as far back as the 1920s.
- Mergent ArchivesMergent Archives provides Mergent's historical reports from their Mergent Manuals, covering corporations and securities information. The annual report section contains PDF’s of annual reports for US companies, some going back as far as the 1920’s.
- MergentOnlineMergent provides complete SEC documents back to 1996. They also offer financial data, including ratios, as far back as 1986. You can also research financial data on companies that no longer exist within the same time frame. All data can be downloaded to an Excel spreadsheet.
- S&P Capital IQ (Standard and Poor's Capital IQ)S&P Capital IQ provides all SEC filings for pubic companies that are currently active.
SEC Filing Types
The four periodic filings required for public companies are:
- 10-K :An annual report on the company's financial performance for the fiscal year
- 10-Q :A quarterly report on the company's financial performance for the latest fiscal quarter (the 10-K replaces the 10-Q one quarter)
- 8-K :A report for notable events, such as a company press release, or a merger or acquisition
- DEF14A: A proxy statement to shareholders for the fiscal year's annual shareholder meeting, which includes voting on significant matter
The SEC's website includes a useful, descriptive guide to all of their form types.
Annual Reports
Annual reports are professional documents that condense information from a company's 10-K document, presented with color photos, charts, and a letter from the CEO. They are created for shareholders and potential investors, with information regarding the company's financial performance and current activities. Annual reports are generally less detailed than 10-Ks.
External Resources
Pre-EDGAR SEC filings and annual reports are available from the following organizations outside of NYPL.
- Annual Reports at Academic Business LibrariesPurdue University offers a searchable database of corporate annual reports held by several universities.
- Columbia Historical Corporate ReportsColumbia University Libraries holds a collection of annual reports for corporations located in the New York City area, dating back to the 1850s.
- Northwest Historical Annual Reports CollectionThe University of Washington's Foster Business Library offers a digital collection of annual reports from public companies located in the Pacific Northwest, dating back to the 1930s. The collection includes Microsoft annual reports from 1986 through 2000.
- SEC Public Documents Request FormPre-EDGAR filings not available from NYPL can be requested from the Securities and Exchange Commission.