10-K vs 10-Q vs 8-K: How to Read and Compare SEC Filings

A 10-K vs 10-Q vs 8-K comparison begins with purpose, timing and assurance: Form 10-K contains annual audited financial statements and business risks; Form 10-Q provides unaudited interim statements for the first three fiscal quarters; Form 8-K reports specified events as they occur. They complement one another, but are not interchangeable evidence for the same claim.¹

The practical question is which record answers which investment question. We compare reporting deadlines, examine how Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) reported its September 2026 quarter appears across its SEC filings, and calculate what the cash-flow statements reveal beyond the earnings headline. Figures are as of 5 November 2026, not live market data.

10-K, 10-Q and 8-K: the essential differences

The three forms have different evidentiary roles. A release attached to an 8-K can give investors the first explanation of a result, while the filed 10-Q supplies the structured statements and notes needed to check it. The 10-K anchors the latest quarter in the audited annual business and risk context.¹

SEC filing	What it contains	Timing and assurance	Best analytical use
10-K	Annual business description, risk factors, MD&A, notes and audited financial statements	Once each fiscal year; audited annual statements	Establish accounting policies, business structure and a historical baseline
10-Q	Interim financial statements, notes, MD&A and disclosure updates	First three fiscal quarters; generally unaudited	Measure the latest quarter and changes versus comparable periods
8-K	Specified corporate events; may include earnings releases and exhibits	Event-driven; assurance and filed/furnished status vary by item	Find important events and management explanations promptly

When are SEC filings due?

For calendar-day deadlines, the company's filer classification matters. The SEC's general Form 10-K deadline is 60 days after year-end for large accelerated filers, 75 days for accelerated filers and 90 days for non-accelerated filers. Form 10-Q is due within 40 days for large accelerated and accelerated filers, or 45 days for other filers. Form 8-K is generally due within four business days of a triggering event, although exceptions apply.²

Filer class	Form 10-K	Form 10-Q
Large accelerated filer	60 days	40 days
Accelerated filer	75 days	40 days
Non-accelerated filer	90 days	45 days

A frequently missed detail: a domestic issuer does not file a fourth-quarter Form 10-Q. The fourth fiscal quarter is covered through its year-end Form 10-K and related disclosures. A missing standalone Q4 10-Q is not evidence of a filing failure.³

Which filing should investors read first?

If you are researching a company for the first time

Start with the latest 10-K: Item 1 explains the business, Item 1A describes material risk factors, and the statements and notes establish how revenue, expenses and assets are recognised. Then read the latest 10-Q for subsequent developments. Use relevant 8-Ks to trace events between reporting dates. This sequence prevents a single unusually strong quarter from defining the entire investment thesis.

If you are assessing a new earnings announcement

Reverse the order. Open the earnings 8-K and its exhibit for the announcement, read the 10-Q to verify GAAP figures and cash flows, and return to the prior 10-K for annual accounting policies and disclosed risks. Confirm the reporting period and filing accession number before comparing anything; calendar Q3 2026 is Microsoft's fiscal Q1 2027, not its fiscal Q3.⁴⁵

Case study: what Microsoft's FY2027 Q1 SEC filings reveal

Microsoft ended FY2026 on 30 June 2026. On 28 October 2026, the company furnished an earnings release under Form 8-K Item 2.02 for the three months ended 30 September 2026. It also filed its Q1 FY2027 Form 10-Q and, in a separate 8-K under Item 8.01, supplied recast FY2026 segment information to reflect a new reporting structure. The latter was a presentation recast, not a restatement of the previously audited financial statements.⁶⁵⁸

1. The earnings release and the 10-Q answer different questions

The earnings exhibit reported GAAP net income of $36.629 billion and non-GAAP net income of $36.422 billion for the quarter. Microsoft's reconciliation excludes the impact of its investments in OpenAI from the adjusted presentation. The $207 million gap between the two current-period figures is a definitional adjustment, not a second set of GAAP results.⁷

For the same quarter, the 10-Q reports GAAP revenue of $92.279 billion and the same $36.629 billion in GAAP net income. The distinction is not that the release is useless: it tells us what management highlighted and how non-GAAP results were constructed. The 10-Q provides the filed interim statements, notes and cash-flow detail required to test that explanation.⁵

2. Cash flow tells a different story from net income

The income statement alone would miss the scale of cash reinvestment. Microsoft generated $58.000 billion of operating cash flow in Q1 FY2027, up 28.7% from $45.057 billion a year earlier. Cash additions to property and equipment rose 103.0%, from $19.394 billion to $39.367 billion. Both comparisons cover the same three-month windows ended 30 September 2026 and 2025.⁵

Microsoft, USD billions	Q1 FY2027	Q1 FY2026	Change
GAAP net income	36.629	27.747	+32.0%
Operating cash flow	58.000	45.057	+28.7%
Cash additions to property and equipment	39.367	19.394	+103.0%
Operating cash flow less cash property additions*	18.633	25.663	−27.4%

Our finding: the simple cash-flow-minus-cash-property-additions residual declined from $25.663 billion to $18.633 billion, or 27.4%, despite stronger reported net income. Cash property additions absorbed 67.9% of operating cash flow, versus 43.0% in the comparable quarter. We calculate these figures as operating cash flow minus the cash-flow-statement line for additions to property and equipment; they do not measure all investments, lease financing or cash available for distributions.⁵

For a broader period-matched comparison, see our US cloud earnings analysis, which compares operating cash flow and cash property additions across Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon. The filing-type analysis here remains focused on a single issuer.

3. The second 8-K adds a comparability warning

Microsoft's separate 28 October 2026 8-K recast previously published FY2026 segment disclosures to align with its new operating segments. It expressly said the update did not amend or restate the audited consolidated statements. That matters when combining segment growth across FY2026 and FY2027: a period comparison built on different segment definitions can be misleading even when each original report is accurate.⁸

What could overturn this interpretation?

The narrower cash residual does not by itself prove poor capital allocation. Infrastructure spending could create productive capacity and future cash receipts; payment timing and finance leases can also shift the relationship between cash capex and economic investment. A stronger investment case would require evidence that subsequent Azure and cloud revenue, margins and operating cash flow support the higher spending. Our next check is the following 10-Q's cash-flow statement, commitments and relevant management discussion, not another interpretation of the same headline.⁵

Five filing mistakes that distort financial analysis

1. Mixing fiscal and calendar quarters. Microsoft fiscal Q1 FY2027 ended in calendar Q3 2026. Always record the actual period end.
2. Comparing annual and quarterly cash flows as growth. Match the period lengths; where a cash-flow statement is year-to-date, derive a standalone quarter only from compatible cumulative figures.
3. Treating an adjusted number as GAAP. Read the reconciliation in the earnings exhibit before placing non-GAAP figures in an earnings table.
4. Calling every 8-K attachment “filed”. Microsoft's Item 2.02 release was expressly furnished, while its separate Item 8.01 recast was filed; the legal status matters.⁶⁸
5. Ignoring revised segment definitions. Recast historical categories before claiming segment-level growth, and document any reporting change.

A repeatable SEC filing research framework

Our approach is to make the trail from claim to source independently reproducible. It works for manual analysis and for AI-assisted financial research, but the analyst remains responsible for interpretation.

1. Identify the issuer and period. Save the company name, ticker, form type, period end, filing date, accession number and exact EDGAR URL.
2. Classify every number. Mark it as a GAAP statement line, company-defined non-GAAP figure, management outlook, or our own calculation.
3. Match comparison windows. Compare like-for-like three-, six-, nine- or twelve-month amounts; reconcile segment revisions.
4. Calculate transparently. Keep the original USD million inputs and the formula, then round only for presentation.
5. Challenge the first conclusion. Write down a plausible alternative explanation and the next filing line that could support or contradict it.
6. Publish the evidence trail. Place the exact report link beside each material figure, with dated sources and a methods note.

Questions investors ask about SEC reports

Is Form 8-K an audited report?

No. An 8-K is an event-driven disclosure form, not a periodic audited financial statement. It may contain an earnings exhibit or other financial information, but the assurance and filed/furnished treatment depend on the particular disclosure. For audited annual statements, start with the relevant 10-K.¹

Why is there no Q4 10-Q?

Domestic SEC registrants generally file Form 10-Q for their first three fiscal quarters only. Full-year statements appear in the 10-K, with the fiscal fourth quarter incorporated in the annual reporting period.³

Which number should I quote: GAAP or adjusted profit?

Use the GAAP figure when discussing the filed income statement, and label adjusted figures explicitly as non-GAAP with the issuer's reconciliation and definition. Neither should silently replace the other. For Microsoft's September 2026 quarter, these were $36.629 billion and $36.422 billion, respectively.⁵⁷

Sources and methodology

Research cut-off: 5 November 2026. Scope: Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT); FY2026 annual report and September 2026 quarter, with the comparable September 2025 quarter shown within the FY2027 Q1 10-Q. All amounts are USD billions, converted from the filings' USD millions. Growth = (current period / comparable period − 1) × 100. Operating cash flow less cash additions to property and equipment = cash from operations − absolute cash cash-flow-statement additions to property and equipment. This is an analytical proxy, not a standardised free-cash-flow measure; it omits other capital commitments and non-cash investment. Filing dates and document roles were checked against SEC EDGAR. Nothing here is investment advice.

Primary source record

1. SEC Investor.gov: Using EDGAR to Research Investments.
2. SEC Financial Reporting Manual, section 1330: report due dates.
3. SEC Form 10-Q instructions: first three quarters.
4. Microsoft FY2026 Form 10-K (year ended 30 June 2026).
5. Microsoft Q1 FY2027 Form 10-Q (filed 28 October 2026, accession 0001193125-26-436133).
6. Microsoft Form 8-K, Item 2.02 (28 October 2026, accession 0001193125-26-436122).
7. Microsoft 8-K Exhibit 99.1: Q1 FY2027 earnings and non-GAAP reconciliation.
8. Microsoft Form 8-K, Item 8.01: FY2026 segment recast (28 October 2026, accession 0001193125-26-436149).