Annual Report -- A complete definition

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Annual Report

An annual report is an audited corporate document that details the business activity and financial status of a publicly held company over the previous year. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all public companies to distribute an annual report to shareholders at the end of each fiscal year. Each report contains the three main financial statements--the Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement and Balance Sheet--as well as a host of other company-related data.

Although the annual report provides a variety of important financial data, investors can find much more detailed annual and quarterly analysis in the "10K" and the "10Q� reports. The SEC requires all publicly traded companies to file the 10k and the 10Q on an annual and quarterly basis, respectively. The 10K provides in-depth information on a company's products, market segments, competitors, customers, management and legal proceedings. The 10Q delivers a detailed analysis of a firm's quarterly earnings results. Investors can readily access these financial reports for all public companies and mutual funds incorporated in the U.S. on the SEC's web site:

http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

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