Business & finance · also called 10-K, annual report
Form 10-K
Form 10-K is the comprehensive annual report that US public companies must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including audited financial statements, business description and risk factors.
The 10-K is the most detailed public document a US-listed company produces each year. It describes the business, its markets and competitors, risk factors, legal proceedings, management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) of results, executive compensation (often via the proxy statement), and audited financial statements with notes.
For ad tech, the 10-K is where you find the details that press releases skip: how revenue is recognised (gross vs net), customer concentration, take rate trends, exposure to regulation such as GDPR or antitrust in ad tech cases, dependence on partners like Google or Apple, and exposure to invalid traffic and brand safety risks.
Deadlines depend on company size: large accelerated filers have 60 days after fiscal year-end, others 75 or 90. Filings are free to read on the SEC's EDGAR system. Foreign companies listed in the US usually file a Form 20-F instead.
Think of it like this
A 10-K is like a company's annual medical check-up report: long, full of test results, and required by law, whether or not the patient enjoys it.
An example
An investor reads a DSP's 10-K and finds that its top agency holding company accounted for a double-digit share of gross spend, a risk not mentioned in the press release.
Related terms
Form 10-Q
Form 10-Q is the quarterly report US public companies file with the SEC for each of the first three fiscal quarters, containing unaudited financial statements and management's discussion of results.
Form 8-K
Form 8-K is the "current report" US public companies file with the SEC to announce major events, such as acquisitions, executive changes or earnings releases, usually within four business days.
Earnings report
An earnings report is the periodic announcement, usually quarterly, in which a public company discloses its revenue, profit and other key results, often with an investor call and updated guidance.
Gross vs net revenue
Gross vs net revenue is the accounting choice between reporting everything customers pay (gross) or only what a company keeps after paying partners (net), which complicates comparisons.
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is the total stock-market value of a public company, calculated as its share price multiplied by the number of shares outstanding.
Sources: Investor.gov: Form 10-K