Which SEC filing dem dey file pass? No be 10-K o

Di most common SEC filing no be di 10-K annual report, di 10-Q, or di 8-K wey dey scroll across screen for earnings day. Na di simple Form 4 — di one-page insider-transaction notice wey company officer, director or big shareholder dey file after dem buy or sell stock. Dis page rank di most common SEC filings straight from di EDGAR index, define each major form for plain English, and end with di practical part: how to pull up a company's filings and read one.

Which SEC filings dem dey file pass?

EDGAR — na di SEC Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system — na di public database wey every U.S. securities filing dey enter. Our own copy of im daily index collect more dan 1.2 million filings for di past one year, wey be roughly 102,000 every month, across 388 form types from more dan 155,000 filers.

SELECT floor(count() / 1e5) / 10 AS filings_millions,
       round(count() / 12 / 1000) AS avg_per_month_k,
       uniqExact(form_type) AS distinct_form_types,
       floor(uniqExact(cik) / 1000) AS distinct_filers_k,
       round(100.0 * countIf(ticker != '') / count(), 1) AS pct_with_ticker,
       round(100.0 * countIf(endsWith(form_type, '/A')) / count(), 1) AS pct_amendments,
       round(100.0 * countIf(form_type = '4/A') / countIf(form_type IN ('4', '4/A')), 1) AS pct_form4_amended
FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()

If you sort am by form type, one category just dey run leave di rest.

SELECT form_type,
       round(100.0 * count() / (SELECT count() FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()), 2) AS pct_of_filings
FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()
GROUP BY form_type
ORDER BY count() DESC
LIMIT 12

Form 4 — di insider-transaction report — na im get 28.13% of every filing for di index, wey pass one for every four. Di next single form wey big pass, na di 424B2 prospectus supplement, wey hold 14.81%; from dere di table dey go down pass 144, 8-K, NPORT-P, 3 and plenty oda small-small ones. Di reports wey dey always make financial headlines — di 10-K and 10-Q — dem rank far down for dis list, na di first surprise wey di data go show you.

Why Form 4 na di SEC filing wey dey show pass?

Dem dey file Form 4 anytime wey corporate insider — officer, director, or shareholder wey get pass 10% of one company — buy or sell di company stock. Di rule give about two business days after di trade, and one big company fit get plenty insiders wey dey trade all through di year. Each transaction na im own filing, so di count dey climb faster pass any periodic report. Dis na di raw feed wey dey behind every insider trading headline.

Two siblings dey complete di insider set. Form 3 na di first statement wey insider dey file wen dem take di role or cross di 10% line. Form 5 na annual clean-up for small transactions wey dem excuse from quick Form 4 reporting. Form 3 dey among di bigger categories for di leaderboard up there; di ongoing Form 4 big pass both of dem.

Which SEC filings investors dey actually read?

Di filings wey dey fill financial media na small part of di total volume. Na eight forms wey every investor don hear about, each one get im rank among all 388 form types.

SELECT form_type, filings, overall_rank, filings_display
FROM (
    SELECT form_type,
           count() AS filings,
           reverse(arrayStringConcat(extractAll(reverse(toString(count())), '[0-9]{1,3}'), ',')) AS filings_display,
           row_number() OVER (ORDER BY count() DESC, form_type) AS overall_rank
    FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
    WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()
    GROUP BY form_type
)
WHERE form_type IN ('4', '8-K', '13F-HR', '10-Q', 'DEFA14A', '10-K', 'DEF 14A', 'S-1')
ORDER BY filings DESC

Form 4 post 344,472 filings — rank 1. Di 8-K, wey be notice of material event (like acquisition, executive wey comot, bankruptcy, or earnings release), come reach 63,610 for rank 4. Di 13F-HR, wey be di quarterly holdings report wey every manager wey dey run more dan roughly $100 million must file, log 32,352 — snapshots wey fit show up to 45 days after quarter close, na disclosure lag wey dey di same spirit as why published short interest always dey about two weeks old. Di documents wey retail investors dey study most closely dey behind all of dem: di 10-Q dey 15,929, di 10-K dey just 6,056 — rank 25 of 388. Di one wey rare pass among di eight na di S-1, wey usually be di registration statement for going public: 1,113, di paperwork wey dey behind a newly listed company im first weeks of trading.

Where the DEF 14A proxy statement dey fit?

The DEF 14A — the definitive proxy statement — na the booklet for annual meeting: e get the ballot for directors and auditor, the say-on-pay vote, and the executive-compensation tables wey dey behind every headline wey talk say "CEO earn X times the median employee." Na one of the documents wey people dey read pass wey company dey publish, but the index only carry 4,936 for the trailing year, for rank 29. The arithmetic match the 10-K own: one per year for each operating company.

E get one relative wey dey make more noise wey dey siddon beside am. DEFA14A — "additional soliciting material" — cover any other thing wey dem send to shareholders about that vote: decks, letters wey dey beg for yes, proxy-advisor rebuttals. One contested vote dey generate plenty of dem, and the index show 6,561 DEFA14As against 4,936 DEF 14As. Two relatives complete the family: PRE 14A, the preliminary version wey dem file make SEC staff review am, and DFAN14A, the same material wey one activist wey dey run rival slate file.

Which oda SEC forms dem dey file pass?

Four categories dey fill most of di rest of di leaderboard:

• 424B2 / 424B3 — prospectus supplements. Issuer wey get shelf registration dey file one wit di final terms anytime e sell one tranche; debt and structured-note programs dey produce dem for bulk.
• Form 144 — selling restricted stock. Notice from insider about proposed sale of restricted or control shares, no be sale wey don complete.
• Schedule 13D / 13G — crossing 5%. Di 13D na di long form wey activists dey use; di 13G na di short form for passive holders like index funds.
• NPORT-P, Form D, 6-K. Fund portfolios; private Regulation D raises; news from foreign issuer.

EDGAR big well well pass di few thousand names wey stock-picker dey follow. Only 46.5% of di filings for di past year even carry ticker — di field dey blank many times even for filings about public companies, and plenty of di rest dey come from funds, private companies and advisers wey no get public symbol.

Wetin be amended SEC filing (di /A forms)?

Form name wey end with /A na amendment — e be update to filing wey don already dey record, no be new event. 10-K/A dey restate annual report; 8-K/A dey add statements wey deal announcement promise for later; 4/A dey fix share count wey dem enter wrongly. Dem dey matter wen you dey count filings: 7.6% of di index for di trailing year na /A form.

SELECT form_type AS amended_form,
       count() AS amendments,
       reverse(arrayStringConcat(extractAll(reverse(toString(count())), '[0-9]{1,3}'), ',')) AS amendments_display,
       round(100.0 * count() / (SELECT countIf(endsWith(form_type, '/A')) FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()), 1) AS pct_of_amendments
FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
WHERE filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()
  AND endsWith(form_type, '/A')
GROUP BY form_type
ORDER BY amendments DESC
LIMIT 8

Dis no be table of mistakes. Di biggest entry for inside, SCHEDULE 13G/A — 31,162 filings, 33.3% of all amendments — na routine position maintenance: passive holder wey get 5%-plus dey update 13G as di stake dey move. Di runner-up, D/A for 21,841 filings and 23.4%, na di same tin for private placements. Genuine corrections na di smaller share: only 1.4% of insider Form 4s ever get 4/A. Treat an /A as "na di current version be dis," and check im date before you trust number from di original.

SEC filings dey increase as time dey go?

Snapshot wey cover 12 months no fit tell us about direction. Na di last twelve full quarters dey here: total filings, Form 4s, and di share wey Form 4 get for di whole tin.

SELECT formatDateTime(toStartOfQuarter(filing_date), '%Y-Q') || toString(toQuarter(filing_date)) AS quarter,
       round(count() / 1000.0, 1) AS all_filings_k,
       round(countIf(form_type = '4') / 1000.0, 1) AS form4_filings_k,
       reverse(arrayStringConcat(extractAll(reverse(toString(count())), '[0-9]{1,3}'), ',')) AS all_filings_display,
       reverse(arrayStringConcat(extractAll(reverse(toString(countIf(form_type = '4'))), '[0-9]{1,3}'), ',')) AS form4_filings_display,
       round(100.0 * countIf(form_type = '4') / count(), 1) AS form4_pct_of_filings
FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
WHERE filing_date >= toStartOfQuarter(today() - INTERVAL 36 MONTH)
  AND filing_date < toStartOfQuarter(today())
GROUP BY quarter, toStartOfQuarter(filing_date)
ORDER BY toStartOfQuarter(filing_date)

Two readings dey. First, di mix steady: Form 4 na 27.9% of all filings for 2023-Q3 and 29.9% for 2026-Q2, di newest full quarter — e dey wander but e no dey climb comot from dat band. Second, di wander na seasonal tin: di January-to-March quarters dey siddon for di top of di range for every year wey di panel cover, di window wen annual grants vest, proxies dey go out and 10-K season peak. Total volume dey follow di same calendar, from 245,391 filings for 2023-Q3 go reach 336,460 for 2026-Q2 — 100,769 of dat last quarter na Form 4s alone. Insider-activity screen dey read seasonal series: quiet August na calendar artifact before e turn to signal.

How to find one particular company SEC filings

Every filer get CIK — Central Index Key, na di permanent number wey SEC dey use take know dem. Ticker fit change and dem fit reuse am; CIK no dey ever change, na why di index dey key into am. Apple own na 0000320193. Just type ticker or name inside EDGAR search for sec.gov/edgar/search to get di CIK, den you fit browse dat filer history. One well-known name year for EDGAR:

SELECT form_type,
       count() AS filings,
       any(cik) AS issuer_cik,
       max(filing_date) AS latest_filing,
       concat(monthName(max(filing_date)), ' ', toString(toDayOfMonth(max(filing_date))), ', ', toString(toYear(max(filing_date)))) AS latest_filing_readable,
       argMax(accession_number, (filing_date, accession_number)) AS latest_accession
FROM global_markets.stocks_sec_edgar_index
WHERE ticker = 'AAPL'
  AND filing_date >= today() - INTERVAL 12 MONTH AND filing_date < today()
  AND form_type IN ('4', '144', '8-K', '10-Q', '10-K', 'DEF 14A')
GROUP BY form_type
ORDER BY multiIf(form_type = '4', 1, form_type = '144', 2, form_type = '8-K', 3, form_type = '10-Q', 4, form_type = '10-K', 5, 6)

Di rhythm of one big operating company show clearly: 1 10-K, 3 10-Qs and 1 DEF 14A proxy for di year — one for each required period — against 41 Form 4s and 7 8-Ks, wey dey come anytime event happen. Each row carry di accession number of di newest filing of dat type: Apple latest Form 4, wey dem file June 17, 2026, na accession 0001140361-26-025622 — di document permanent address for EDGAR.

How to read Form 4

Open one, you go see header (insider name and how e relate — director, officer, 10% owner) plus two tables: Table I na for ordinary shares, Table II na for derivatives. Each row na one transaction, and di column wey carry di meaning na di single-letter transaction code.

• P — open-market purchase. Di insider buy with im own money — di code wey insider-buying trackers dey look for.
• S — open-market sale. Cash sale, many times dem don arrange am before under Rule 10b5-1 plan, wey footnote dey usually mention.
• A — award or grant. Shares wey dem give as compensation; no decision to buy dey inside.
• M — exercise of a derivative. Options or units wey dem convert to shares, many times dem dey pair am same day with F or S.
• F — shares withheld for taxes. E fit look like sale for raw feed; na withholding mechanic for vesting grant.
• G — gift. Transfer wey no get cash consideration.

Di rest of di row dey show di share count, di price, and di holding after di transaction — di last column dey tell whether headline sale na di whole position or just rounding error. Filter feed to code P and di volume wey remain go small reach wetin pesin fit read. Di index get im own wahala — check note about one EDGAR index gap.

FAQ

Which SEC filing dem dey file pass?

By volume, na Form 4, di insider-transaction report wey one officer, director, or pesin wey get 10% or pass dey file after dem trade company stock. For di trailing year, e make up 28.13% of every filing for di EDGAR index.

Na 10-K be di most common SEC filing?

No. E be one of di filings wey pipo sabi well-well but e no too common — one public company dey file am once a year. Di index carry 6,056 of dem for di trailing year, against 344,472 insider Form 4s.

Wetin be DEF 14A proxy statement?

Na di booklet wey company dey send before im annual meeting: di director ballot, di auditor ratification, di say-on-pay vote and di executive-pay tables. One per operating company per year — di index show 4,936 for di trailing year, rank 29 among all form types.

Wetin di transaction code for one Form 4 mean?

Na di single letter wey dey tok wetin happun: P open-market purchase, S sale, A compensation award, M option or unit exercise, F shares wey dem hold for taxes on one vesting grant, G gift. Codes A, M and F na compensation mechanics, no be decisions to buy or sell for dat day price.

Every panel wey dey above come with di SQL wey generate am — open one and audit di count. To rank filings for any company or form type for plain English, ask for di Strasmore terminal.