GLOSSARY

The disclosure dictionary.

Every filing, form, and signal term on FilingsIQ, in plain language.

8-K

Filings

The "current report" companies file to announce material events between quarterly reports: acquisitions, executive changes, results, and other market-moving news.

10-K

Filings

A company's comprehensive annual report filed with the SEC: business overview, risk factors, audited financials, and management's discussion. Often 100 to 300+ pages; FilingsIQ generates a structured summary and plain-language TLDR.

10-Q

Filings

The quarterly report, a slimmer unaudited update filed three times a year between 10-Ks.

10b5-1 plan

Insider Trades

A pre-arranged trading plan that lets insiders schedule future transactions in advance to avoid trading on material non-public information. Sales under 10b5-1 plans are generally considered less informative than discretionary trades, and FilingsIQ labels them.

424B prospectus

IPOs

The final prospectus filed once an offering prices, completing the picture the S-1 began.

Amount range

Congressional Trades

Congressional disclosures report transaction sizes in dollar bands (such as $1,001 to $15,000) rather than exact amounts, so congressional trade values are always shown as ranges.

Beneficial ownership

Insider Trades

Direct or indirect ownership of, or control over, a security, the basis for insider and large-holder reporting requirements.

Chamber

Congressional Trades

Which body of Congress a filer belongs to: the Senate or the House of Representatives. Senate and House disclosures are filed through separate systems.

CIK Number

Filings

Central Index Key, a unique identifier the SEC assigns to every entity that files with EDGAR. Used to look up all filings for a specific company. FilingsIQ automatically resolves ticker symbols to CIK numbers when pulling filings.

Cluster buying

Insider Trades

Multiple insiders at the same company buying stock within a short window. Widely followed because independent, simultaneous insider purchases are historically a stronger signal than a single buy. FilingsIQ flags clusters automatically.

Days to cover

Short Interest

Short interest divided by average daily trading volume: an estimate of how many days of typical volume it would take short sellers to buy back their positions. Higher values can mean more fuel for a squeeze.

DEF 14A (proxy statement)

Filings

The annual proxy filing covering executive compensation, board matters, and the management and 5% owner tables.

Disclosure lag

Congressional Trades

The gap between a transaction's trade date and the date it was publicly disclosed. Congressional trades are reported with a lag (often weeks), which is why FilingsIQ shows both dates and the lag on every congressional trade.

Earnings Quality

Metrics

A measure of how well reported earnings reflect actual cash generation. High-quality earnings closely track operating cash flow. Low-quality earnings rely on aggressive accounting: premature revenue recognition, deferred expenses, or one-time items presented as recurring. The cash conversion ratio is the simplest test of earnings quality.

EDGAR

Filings

The SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system: the public database where filings are submitted and published. FilingsIQ pulls filings directly from EDGAR.

Float

Short Interest

The portion of a company's shares available for public trading, excluding closely held and restricted shares. Because float must be estimated, short-interest-to-float figures are approximations and are labeled as estimates on FilingsIQ.

Form 3

Insider Trades

The initial statement of beneficial ownership an insider files when they first become subject to insider reporting requirements.

Form 4

Insider Trades

The SEC form corporate insiders (officers, directors, and 10% owners) file to report transactions in their company's stock, generally due within two business days of the trade. The core input to FilingsIQ's Insider Flow.

Form 5

Insider Trades

An annual form covering certain insider transactions that were exempt from, or missed, Form 4 reporting during the year.

Form 144

Ownership

The notice filed when an insider or affiliate intends to sell restricted or control securities under Rule 144.

Free Cash Flow (FCF)

Metrics

Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. FCF represents the cash a company generates after maintaining or expanding its asset base. A divergence between reported earnings and FCF often indicates aggressive accounting assumptions. Analysts use the cash conversion ratio (operating cash flow / net income) to assess earnings quality.

Going concern language

Filings

Disclosure indicating substantial doubt about a company's ability to continue operating, typically over the next twelve months. One of the red flags FilingsIQ scans for automatically.

Investment Thesis

Research

A structured argument for why a stock is attractive (or not) at the current price. A defensible thesis answers five questions: what the company does, its key revenue/margin drivers, material risks, valuation reasonableness, and exit criteria. RIAs use thesis documentation for compliance and investment committee presentations.

MD&A (Management Discussion & Analysis)

Filings

A section in the 10-K and 10-Q where management explains the company's financial results in their own words. It covers revenue drivers, expense changes, liquidity, capital resources, and known trends. Analysts compare MD&A narrative to actual numbers to identify discrepancies or overly optimistic framing.

Open-market purchase

Insider Trades

An insider buying shares on the open market with their own money, as opposed to receiving equity through compensation. Generally treated as a stronger bullish signal than option exercises or grants.

Owner (congressional filing)

Congressional Trades

Who the reported transaction belongs to on a PTR: the member themselves, a spouse, or a dependent child.

Periodic Transaction Report (PTR)

Congressional Trades

The disclosure form members of Congress file to report securities transactions by themselves, a spouse, or a dependent child. Under the STOCK Act, transactions must generally be reported within 30 to 45 days. FilingsIQ tracks new PTRs in the Congressional Trades feed.

Quiet period

IPOs

The stretch around an offering when a company's public communications are restricted under securities rules.

RIA (Registered Investment Advisor)

Research

A firm or individual registered with the SEC or state regulators to provide investment advice. RIAs have a fiduciary duty to act in their clients' best interest. They are required to maintain documented research supporting investment decisions, making tools like FilingsIQ valuable for compliance.

Risk factors

Filings

The section of a 10-K or 10-Q where a company discloses what could hurt its business. Changes between periods, new risks added or language strengthened, are often more informative than the list itself, which is what filing comparison surfaces.

S-1

IPOs

The registration statement a company files ahead of a U.S. IPO: the business, financials, risk factors, and offering details. The primary document behind FilingsIQ's IPO pipeline.

S-1/A

IPOs

An amended S-1. Amendments often contain the material updates, pricing ranges, new financials, as the offering approaches.

Schedule 13D

Ownership

The filing required when an investor acquires more than 5% of a company with activist intent or intent to influence control, due within five business days of crossing the threshold. New 13Ds often signal activist campaigns.

Schedule 13G

Ownership

The shorter alternative to 13D for passive investors crossing the 5% threshold with no intent to influence control.

Settlement date (short interest)

Short Interest

The as-of date for a short interest report. FINRA collects positions as of mid-month and end-of-month settlement dates and publishes the data on a delay, so every short interest figure on FilingsIQ is labeled with its settlement date.

Short interest

Short Interest

The total number of shares of a stock that have been sold short and not yet covered. Broker-dealers report it to FINRA on a bi-monthly settlement cycle, which is why short interest updates roughly twice a month rather than daily.

Short interest % of shares outstanding

Short Interest

Short interest divided by a company's total shares outstanding. FilingsIQ's primary short interest ratio, because shares outstanding is a reported, verifiable figure.

Short squeeze

Short Interest

A rapid price increase that forces short sellers to buy shares to close their positions, adding further buying pressure. Stocks with high short interest and rising prices are candidates; FilingsIQ's Squeeze Watch screens for setups.

Short volume

Short Interest

The number of shares sold short during a single trading day, reported daily, a faster-moving sentiment gauge than bi-monthly short interest.

Short volume ratio

Short Interest

Daily short volume as a percentage of total volume, used to spot day-to-day shifts in short-selling pressure between short interest settlements.

STOCK Act

Congressional Trades

The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, which requires members of Congress to publicly disclose their securities transactions and prohibits them from trading on material non-public information obtained through their positions.

What Changed Comparison

Research

An analysis that compares a new SEC filing to the prior period's filing to identify changes in language, risk factors, financial trends, and disclosures. Manually comparing two 200 to 400 page filings is time-intensive. FilingsIQ automates this by surfacing specific changes in plain language.