Filing Types

6-K

Also known as: Form 6-K

DEFINITION

The 6-K is what foreign private issuers (ADR-listed companies) file when they have material news they have already disclosed in their home market — earnings releases, dividend declarations, acquisitions, management changes. It functions roughly like an 8-K, but the triggers are looser: any information the company is required to publish under home-country rules typically gets routed to SEC via a 6-K.

WHY IT MATTERS FOR RETAIL INVESTORS

For ADR holders, 6-Ks are where most real-time updates live, because foreign issuers usually do not file 10-Qs. The contents vary wildly — some 6-Ks contain full quarterly financials, others are one-page press releases. Skim every 6-K from companies you own; the format is unstandardized, so material information can hide in attachments.

OFFICIAL SEC SOURCE

https://www.sec.gov/files/form6-k.pdf

RELATED TERMS

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