Corporate reports are a treasure trove of information for investors: they tell you whether a company is making money or losing money and why. You'll find this
information in the company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports (with audited financial statements) on Form 10-K, and periodic reports of significant events on Form 8-K.
It's usually easy to find information about large companies from the companies themselves, newspapers, brokerage firms, and the SEC. By contrast, it can be extremely difficult to find
information about small companies. Generally, smaller companies only have to file reports with the SEC if they have $10 million or more in assets and 500 or more shareholders, or list their
securities on an exchange or Nasdaq.
To invest wisely and avoid investment scams, research each investment opportunity thoroughly and ask questions.
You can get corporate reports from the following sources:
You can find out whether a company files reports by using the SEC's database known as EDGAR. For companies that do not file on EDGAR, you can contact the SEC at:
Office of Public Reference
450 5th Street, NW, Room 1300
Washington, D.C. 20549-0102
phone: (202) 551-8090
fax: (202) 628-9001
e-mail: publicinfo@sec.gov
You may also ask the company if it is registered with the SEC and files reports with us. That information may be listed on its Web site.
Note: Banks do not have to file reports with the SEC, but file with banking regulators. Visit the Web sites at the Federal Reserve System's National Information Center of
Banking Information, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
To find out whether a company has been cleared to sell its securities in a particular state and whether it is in good standing, you can contact the following:
1) Your state securities regulator - Contact the North American Securities Administrators Association to get the name and phone number of your state securities regulator to see
if the company has been cleared to sell securities in your state.
2) The Secretary of State where the company is incorporated - You can find out whether the company is a corporation in good standing and has filed annual reports with the state
through the secretary of state where the company is incorporated.
You can find general financial information about companies from reference books and commercial databases. There are a number of resources you may consult:
1) Bloomberg News Service and Lexis/Nexis provide news stories about a company. Dun & Bradstreet, Moody's, Hoover's Profiles, and Standard & Poor's Corporate Profiles
provide financial data about companies. These and other sources are available in many libraries or law and business school libraries.
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