8-K
Also known as: Form 8-K · current report
DEFINITION
The 8-K is the unscheduled filing a US public company must submit when a specific material event occurs — typically within 4 business days. The SEC defines a list of triggering events using numbered Items: 1.01 (entering a material agreement), 2.02 (results of operations, i.e., earnings releases), 5.02 (executive departures), 7.01 (Regulation FD disclosure), 8.01 (other material events), and roughly two dozen more. The form itself is short; the substance lives in attached exhibits.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR RETAIL INVESTORS
8-Ks are the closest thing retail investors have to a real-time newsfeed for the companies they own. CEO resignation, acquisition announcement, accounting restatement, cyber breach disclosure — all show up in 8-Ks before press cycles catch up. Watch the Item number: Item 4.02 (non-reliance on prior financials) is a serious red flag; Item 5.02 (officer changes) needs context. A spike in 8-K frequency around a company is itself a signal worth investigating.
How to Read an 8-K: Items, Triggers, and Red Flags →
Every 8-K Item explained — 1.01 material agreements, 2.02 earnings, 4.02 restatements, 5.02 executive changes. Plus the red flags that signal trouble.
OFFICIAL SEC SOURCE
https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answersform8khtm.html ↗RELATED TERMS
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