what is sec form 10 q 
sec form 10 q is a comprehensive unaudited report of financial performance that must be submitted quarterly by all public companies to the securities and exchange commission sec it stands in contrast to sec form 10 k which is required to be filed annually and is audited in the 10 q firms are required to disclose relevant information regarding their finances related to their business operations a 10 q must be filed for each of the first three quarters of the company s fiscal year understanding sec form 10 qfederal securities laws mandate that publicly traded companies provide certain information to shareholders and the general public these disclosures may occur periodically or as specific events occur a company utilizes form 10 q one of many required by the sec upon the completion of each quarter to release unaudited financial statements and give an overview of the company s financial situation the exact filing dates depend on the organization s fiscal year but it is necessary to file three 10 q reports each year a 10 q for the final quarter of the year is not required a company files form 10 k an annual report instead this report unlike the 10 q is audited and tends to contain more details 1a company s form 10 q is public information anyone who wishes to examine a company s quarterly report can go to the sec s edgar database you can search by company name ticker symbol or sec central index key cik many companies also post their 10 qs on their websites in an investor relations section sec form 10 q filing deadlinesthe deadline for filing a 10 q varies and depends on the number of outstanding shares a company has 1a company filing a 10 q is classified in one of three categories its category is determined by its public float that is the portion of outstanding stock that is in the hands of the public and not held by officers owners or the government essentially the float is comprised of all of a company s freely traded common stock shares the largest companies are classified as large accelerated filers to fit this classification an organization must have at least 700 million in public float large accelerated filers have 40 days after the close of the quarter to file a 10 q 1accelerated filers are companies with at least 75 million in public float but less than 700 million they also have 40 days to file the 10 q they have a little more time to file the 10 k 1finally non accelerated filers are companies with less than 75 million of public float these companies have 45 days from the end of the quarter to file a 10 q 1source investor govfailure to meet the form 10 q filing deadline