What is a 10-K?
A 10-K is a company's annual report to the SEC, the US securities regulator. Most US public companies must file one each year.[S2]
The SEC says it gives a detailed picture of the business, its risks and its results for the fiscal year.[S2] SEC rules require 10-Ks to follow a set order of topics, so each company's report has the same layout.[S2]
Ten minutes will not cover all of it: Amazon's fiscal 2025 report runs to page 79.[S1] It is enough to learn where the main answers sit, using that one filing as the example.
Where do you find a 10-K on EDGAR?
EDGAR is the SEC's public filing system, and all 10-Ks filed with the SEC are on it. Most companies also post them on their own websites.[S2]
The route on EDGAR takes three steps:
- Open the SEC's filing search page and use Company Search, typing a company name or ticker symbol.[S4]
- On the results page, enter 10-K in the "Filing Type" field.[S5]
- Find the row with the filing date wanted and open its "Documents" link.[S5] Then open the main document, listed as type 10-K.[S6]
For Amazon, that list shows a 10-K filed on Feb 6, 2026, and one filed on Feb 7, 2025.[S5] The first is the one used here.
The SEC's Full Text Search is a separate tool. It finds words and phrases in more than 20 years of filings.[S4]
Which five sections does this guide use?
Form 10-K has more than 20 items.[S3] This guide picks five and splits ten minutes across them. That split is ours, not an SEC rule. The descriptions draw on the SEC's bulletin.[S2]
- Item 1, Business (2 minutes). The main products and services and the markets served, which the SEC calls a good place to start.
- Item 1A, Risk Factors (1 minute). The most significant risks to the company or its securities, not how the company addresses them.
- Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis, or MD&A (3 minutes). Management explains the year's results in its own words.
- Item 8, Financial Statements (3 minutes). The audited statements, their notes and the auditor's report.
- Item 9A, Controls and Procedures (1 minute). Information about how the company controls its financial reporting.
What does Item 1 say in Amazon's 10-K?
This is where the business is described in plain sentences. Amazon's item starts on page 3 and runs by type of customer.[S1]
In the filing · Page 3, General
Segments North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS)[S1]
A segment is a part of the company reported on separately. Amazon says these three reflect how it evaluates and manages the business.
In the filing · Page 3, Sellers
Sellers “We are not the seller of record in these transactions.”[S1]
This sentence explains a marketplace. Amazon earns fixed fees, a percentage of sales, per-unit activity fees, interest or a mix of these.
What does Item 1A say in Amazon's 10-K?
Amazon's risk factors start on page 6 and the next item starts on page 17.[S1] In one minute, the headings are what can be read.
In the filing · Page 6
First heading under Business and Industry Risks We Face Intense Competition[S1]
The heading states the risk. The paragraph below names the fields, including retail, cloud computing, devices and advertising.
These are the company's own statements about what could hurt it. They are not a forecast by Cityfort, and they do not weigh how likely each one is.
What does Item 7 say in Amazon's 10-K?
MD&A starts on page 20. The numbers repeat the statements, and the value is in the sentences explaining them.[S1]
In the filing · Page 24, Net Sales
Consolidated net sales $716,924 in 2025; $637,959 in 2024 (in millions), up 12%[S1]
Net sales is Amazon's word for revenue. The table beside it splits sales and growth by segment.
In the filing · Page 27, Operating Income
Operating income $79,975 in 2025; $68,593 in 2024 (in millions)[S1]
This is profit from running the business, before interest and tax. The text says 2025 includes a $2.5 billion charge for settling an FTC lawsuit and $2.7 billion of estimated severance.
In the filing · Page 28, Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Free cash flow, beside net cash from operating activities $11,194 free cash flow (Amazon's own non-GAAP measure); $139,514 net cash provided by operating activities (GAAP), in millions, 2025[S1]
GAAP means the US accounting rules.
Amazon's measure subtracts purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales and incentives. It leaves out items such as debt repayments.
What does Item 8 say in Amazon's 10-K?
Item 8 starts on page 33. The order here runs auditor's report, then cash flow, income statement and balance sheet.[S1]
In the filing · Page 34, Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Auditor's opinion The statements “present fairly, in all material respects” the company's financial position[S1]
Ernst & Young LLP signed this report, dated Feb 5, 2026. The SEC says most audit reports give an "unqualified opinion" like this one.
In the filing · Page 37, year ended Dec 31, 2025
Consolidated statements of operations Total net sales $716,924; Operating income 79,975; Other income (expense), net 15,229; Net income $77,670 (in millions)[S1]
This is the income statement. It runs from sales down to net income, the profit left after all costs and taxes.
In the filing · Page 37, year ended Dec 31, 2025
Diluted earnings per share $7.17[S1]
Net income per share, also counting shares that could be created, for example from employee stock awards.
Other income sits between operating income and net income. MD&A says the 2025 net gain came primarily from price adjustments and reclassifications on Amazon's investments in Anthropic.[S1]
In the filing · Page 36, year ended Dec 31, 2025
Net cash provided by operating activities 139,514 (in millions)[S1]
Cash that came in from running the business. Net income is the first line, and adjustments for non-cash items follow it.
In the filing · Page 39, Dec 31, 2025
Total assets; Total stockholders' equity $818,042; 411,065 (in millions)[S1]
The balance sheet is a snapshot on one date. Assets are what the company owns or controls, and equity is what remains after what it owes.
In the filing · Page 69, Note 10, year ended Dec 31, 2025
Net sales by group Third-party seller services $172,162; Advertising services 68,635; Subscription services 49,619; AWS 128,725 (in millions)[S1]
Notes explain the statements, and this one shows who pays for what. It is the quickest route from "how big" to "from where".
What does Item 9A say in Amazon's 10-K?
This short item is on page 72. Page 73 holds the auditor's separate report on internal control.[S1]
In the filing · Page 72
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting Management concluded internal control “was effective” as of Dec 31, 2025[S1]
Internal control means the checks that keep financial reports reliable. The same item says such controls give reasonable assurance, not absolute assurance.
In the filing · Page 73
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting The company “maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control”[S1]
This is Ernst & Young's opinion. The SEC notes that for large companies the independent accountant also reports on internal controls.
What is not in a 10-K?
Amazon's cover page says Part III draws on the proxy statement for its annual meeting.[S1] Part III covers directors, executive pay and share ownership.[S2]
The SEC says most companies meet those items this way. The proxy is typically filed a month or two after the 10-K.[S2]
Cityfort's Amazon stock page uses GAAP numbers from these filings, with the source named beside each one.