When do most public companies file their 10-K?

Most S&P 500 companies have December 31 fiscal year ends. Large accelerated filers (public float ≥$700M) must file within 60 days, meaning most large-cap 10-Ks land in late February or early March. Smaller companies have until March 31 (90 days).

When is earnings season?

Earnings season happens four times per year, roughly 2-4 weeks after each quarter ends. Q1 results (January-March) are reported in April-May. Q2 in July-August. Q3 in October-November. Q4/full-year in January-February. The bulk of S&P 500 companies report within a 3-4 week window.

How do I know when a specific company will report earnings?

Most companies announce their earnings date 1-2 weeks in advance via 8-K. Financial data sites like Yahoo Finance and Earnings Whispers maintain earnings calendars. You can also set up filing alerts on AssetRoom to be notified automatically.

SEC Filing Calendar: When Companies Report (2026)

SEC filings follow predictable cycles tied to fiscal quarter and year-end dates. If you know when a company’s fiscal year ends, you can estimate when their 10-K will land on EDGAR, when their 10-Qs are due, and when earnings season clusters. This guide explains the SEC’s filing calendar system and gives you a practical reference for 2026.

How filing deadlines work

The SEC sets filing deadlines based on two factors: the type of filing (10-K, 10-Q, or 8-K) and the company’s filer category, which is determined by the public float - the market value of shares held by public (non-insider) investors.

Filer categories

Filer Category	Public Float	10-K Deadline	10-Q Deadline
Large Accelerated Filer	≥ $700 million	60 days after fiscal year end	40 days after quarter end
Accelerated Filer	$75M – $699.9M	75 days after fiscal year end	40 days after quarter end
Non-Accelerated Filer	< $75 million	90 days after fiscal year end	45 days after quarter end
Smaller Reporting Company	Varies (generally < $250M revenue or public float < $700M)	90 days after fiscal year end	45 days after quarter end

The vast majority of S&P 500 and large-cap companies are large accelerated filers. For these companies, the 10-K must be filed within 60 days of fiscal year end, and each quarterly 10-Q within 40 days of each quarter end.

The December 31 fiscal year end dominates

Most US public companies - roughly 70–75% of S&P 500 companies - have a fiscal year ending December 31. This creates a predictable cluster of filings concentrated in February, March, May, August, and November.

Annual filing window for December 31 filers (2026)

Filer Type	Fiscal Year End	10-K Deadline	Expected Range
Large Accelerated Filer	December 31, 2025	March 2, 2026	Mid-February – early March
Accelerated Filer	December 31, 2025	March 17, 2026	Late February – mid-March
Non-Accelerated / SRC	December 31, 2025	March 31, 2026	Late February – March 31

In practice, many large companies file their 10-K in mid-to-late February - well before the 60-day deadline. Companies like JPMorgan Chase, Alphabet, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson typically file in early to mid-February for their December 31 fiscal years.

Quarterly filing windows: 2026

Most investors care most about when earnings results will appear. The 10-Q is typically filed 2–6 weeks after earnings are reported. The 8-K with the earnings press release (Item 2.02) usually comes on the day of the earnings announcement itself - well before the 10-Q.

Q4 2025 / Annual (December 31 FYE)

Filer Type	10-K Deadline
Large Accelerated	March 2, 2026
Accelerated	March 17, 2026
Non-Accelerated	March 31, 2026

Earnings season for this quarter runs through late January and February, with the bulk of large-cap earnings announcements happening January 20 through February 20.

Q1 2026 (March 31 quarter end)

Filer Type	10-Q Deadline
Large Accelerated & Accelerated	May 11, 2026
Non-Accelerated & SRC	May 15, 2026

Earnings season for Q1 runs through April and early May, with announcements clustering April 15 through May 10.

Q2 2026 (June 30 quarter end)

Filer Type	10-Q Deadline
Large Accelerated & Accelerated	August 10, 2026
Non-Accelerated & SRC	August 14, 2026

Q2 results arrive in July and early August, with announcements clustering July 15 through August 7.

Q3 2026 (September 30 quarter end)

Filer Type	10-Q Deadline
Large Accelerated & Accelerated	November 9, 2026
Non-Accelerated & SRC	November 14, 2026

Q3 results arrive in October and early November, with announcements clustering October 13 through November 6.

Companies with non-December fiscal year ends

Not all companies run a calendar fiscal year. Many consumer-oriented companies use fiscal years aligned with their business cycles - and technology companies like Apple have historically used non-calendar fiscal years. Here are some major companies with notable non-December fiscal year ends:

Company	Fiscal Year End	10-K Due (approx.)
Apple (AAPL)	Last Saturday of September	Late November / December
Microsoft (MSFT)	June 30	Late August / September
Walmart (WMT)	Late January	Late March / April
Nike (NKE)	May 31	Late July / August
Home Depot (HD)	Late January	Late March / April
Target (TGT)	Late January / early February	Late March / April
FedEx (FDX)	May 31	Late July
Costco (COST)	Late August	Late October

For these companies, “earnings season” doesn’t coincide with the main calendar-year cluster. Apple reports its fiscal Q4 results in late October (for the September year-end), and its 10-K arrives in December or January.

When to expect NVIDIA’s reports (example)

NVIDIA CORP (NVDA)’s fiscal year ends January 31. That means:

Annual 10-K: Due approximately late March (60 days after January 31)
Q1 10-Q: Due approximately late June (40 days after April 30)
Q2 10-Q: Due approximately late September (40 days after July 31)
Q3 10-Q: Due approximately late November (40 days after October 31)

NVIDIA typically announces earnings in late May (Q1), late August (Q2), and late November (Q3), with its annual earnings in late February.

How to find a specific company’s filing deadline

You can calculate any company’s approximate filing deadline by:

Finding the fiscal year end date - check the company’s investor relations page, or look at the cover page of any recent 10-K (it states the fiscal year covered)
Determining the filer category - also disclosed on the 10-K cover page
Adding the appropriate number of days - 60/75/90 days for 10-K, 40/45 days for 10-Q

For a more direct lookup, the SEC’s EDGAR system shows exact deadlines for each company on their filing page.

The 8-K earnings calendar: what comes before the 10-Q

In practice, most investors care about when companies announce earnings results - which happens via 8-K (Item 2.02, Results of Operations), not via 10-Q. The 10-Q follows the 8-K by several weeks.

The sequence for a December 31 company’s Q1 results typically looks like this:

April/May: Earnings announcement day - company releases results via press release and simultaneous 8-K filing. Conference call held. Stock moves on results.
1–4 weeks later: 10-Q filed on EDGAR with full financial statements, MD&A, and updated risk factors.

The 8-K + press release is the first public look at the numbers. The 10-Q provides the detailed financial statements and management narrative.

Setting up alerts for earnings filings

Rather than manually checking filing calendars, you can receive automatic notifications:

AssetRoom - Free email alerts with AI-powered summaries when companies you follow file 10-Ks and 10-Qs. Sign up and follow your watchlist.
EDGAR RSS feeds - Official SEC RSS feeds you can subscribe to for any company. No summaries, but covers all form types.
Earnings calendar sites - Yahoo Finance, Earnings Whispers, and similar sites maintain calendars of expected earnings dates.