SEC Guides
Practical explainers for SEC filings, EDGAR, private funds and adviser records.
How to Compare a Company’s Business Description Across Multiple SEC Filings
TITLE: How to Compare a Company’s Business Description Across Multiple SEC Filings SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to compare a company’s business description across multiple SEC filings to identify strategy changes, discontinued operations, acquisitions, reverse mergers, shifting revenue sources, and inconsistencies in cor
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What Do Related-Party Payables Mean in a Public Company Filing
TITLE: What Do Related-Party Payables Mean in a Public Company Filing SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn what related-party payables mean in SEC filings, where to find them, how they differ from ordinary trade payables, and what investors should review about insiders, affiliates, repayment terms, and conflicts of interest. What Do
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How to Find the Number of Shares Outstanding in SEC Filings
TITLE: How to Find the Number of Shares Outstanding in SEC Filings SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn where to find shares outstanding in SEC filings, how to distinguish outstanding, issued, authorized, basic, and diluted shares, and how to track changes in a company’s share count over time. How to Find the Number of Shares Outsta
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How to Spot Heavy Share Dilution in SEC Reports
TITLE: How to Spot Heavy Share Dilution in SEC Reports SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to identify heavy share dilution in SEC filings by tracking shares outstanding, equity offerings, warrants, convertible securities, at-the-market programs, and changes in ownership over time. How to Spot Heavy Share Dilution in SEC Report
Read guide →What Does Negative Stockholders’ Equity Mean in SEC Filings
TITLE: What Does Negative Stockholders’ Equity Mean in SEC Filings SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn what negative stockholders’ equity means in SEC filings, how it differs from insolvency, what can cause it, and how investors should evaluate liabilities, accumulated deficits, buybacks, and liquidity. What Does Negative Stockhold
Read guide →How to Read Cash and Cash Equivalents in an SEC Balance Sheet
TITLE: How to Read Cash and Cash Equivalents in an SEC Balance Sheet SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to read cash and cash equivalents in SEC financial statements, what the balance includes, how to compare cash with debt and operating burn, and why restricted cash and short-term investments matter. How to Read Cash and Cash
Read guide →How to Check Whether a Company Has Revenue Using SEC Filings
TITLE: How to Check Whether a Company Has Revenue Using SEC Filings SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to verify whether a company has revenue using SEC filings, where to find revenue in a 10-K or 10-Q, how to distinguish sales from other income, and how to compare revenue trends across periods. How to Check Whether a Company
Read guide →What Does an Accumulated Deficit Mean for Investors
TITLE: What Does an Accumulated Deficit Mean for Investors SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn what an accumulated deficit means in SEC financial statements, how it differs from current-period losses, why it can grow over time, and what investors should review before treating it as a warning sign. What Does an Accumulated Deficit M
Read guide →How to Find Working Capital Deficits in SEC Financial Statements
TITLE: How to Find Working Capital Deficits in SEC Financial Statements SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to identify a working capital deficit in SEC filings, calculate current assets versus current liabilities, and understand what negative working capital may signal about liquidity, financing needs, and short-term obligatio
Read guide →What Does “Going Concern” Mean in a 10-K or 10-Q
TITLE: What Does “Going Concern” Mean in a 10-K or 10-Q SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn what a going-concern warning means in SEC filings, where to find it in a 10-K or 10-Q, what conditions can trigger substantial doubt, and how investors should interpret management and auditor disclosures. What Does “Going Concern” Mean in a
Read guide →How to Identify a Dormant or Inactive Issuer Using SEC Filings
TITLE: How to Identify a Dormant or Inactive Issuer Using SEC Filings SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to identify signs of a dormant or inactive public issuer by reviewing SEC filings for revenue, employees, assets, financing activity, discontinued operations, shell status, and filing history. How to Identify a Dormant or I
Read guide →How to Check Whether a Public Company Is Actually Operating
TITLE: How to Check Whether a Public Company Is Actually Operating SEO DESCRIPTION: Learn how to determine whether a public company is actually operating by reviewing SEC filings for revenue, employees, assets, facilities, cash flow, business activity, and going-concern disclosures. How to Check Whether a Public Compan
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