What is a 10-Q?
A 10-Q is the quarterly report a US public company files with the SEC, the US securities regulator. It covers each of the first three fiscal quarters: financial statements, management's explanation and updates on risks.[S2]
No 10-Q is needed for the fourth quarter. The annual report, the 10-K, covers the full year.[S2]
This guide walks through one real filing: Apple's 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun 27, 2026, filed Jul 31, 2026.[S1] Apple's fiscal year ends in September, so this is the third quarter of fiscal 2026.[S1]
When is a 10-Q due?
Form 10-Q sets the deadline by filer size. Large accelerated and accelerated filers have 40 days after the quarter ends; all others have 45.[S2]
Apple's cover page marks it as a large accelerated filer, so its limit was 40 days. It filed 34 days after the quarter ended.[S1]
Apple put out its results a day earlier, in an earnings release. That release was an exhibit to a Form 8-K filed on Jul 30, 2026.[S7]
The 10-Q adds the full condensed statements, their notes, and Part II.[S1] How to read a US earnings release covers the release itself.
Where do you find a 10-Q on EDGAR?
EDGAR is the SEC's public filing system. The route takes three steps:
- Open the SEC's filing search page and type a company name or ticker symbol.[S8]
- On the results page, enter 10-Q in the "Filing Type" field.[S5]
- Open the "Documents" link beside the filing date wanted, then the main document, listed as type 10-Q.[S6]
For Apple, that list shows 10-Qs filed on Jul 31, May 1 and Jan 30, 2026.[S5] The first is the one used here.
How is a 10-Q laid out?
Form 10-Q has two parts. Part I is the financial information, and Part II is other information.[S2]
- Part I, Item 1, Financial Statements. The condensed statements and their notes. In Apple's filing, pages 1 to 12.
- Part I, Item 2, MD&A. Management's Discussion and Analysis: why the numbers moved, in management's words. Pages 13 to 18.
- Part I, Items 3 and 4. Market risk, and the company's controls over what it discloses. Page 19.
- Part II, Items 1 to 6. Legal proceedings, risk factor changes, share buybacks, defaults, mine safety, other information and exhibits. Pages 20 to 25.
The item list comes from the form.[S2] The page numbers come from Apple's table of contents.[S1]
How do the three-month and nine-month columns work?
A 10-Q's statements cover different stretches of time. SEC Rule 10-01 sets which periods each statement must show.[S3]
- Income statement: the quarter, and the fiscal year to date, each beside the same period a year earlier.
- Balance sheet: the quarter's last day, beside the last day of the previous fiscal year.
- Cash flow statement: the fiscal year to date only, beside the same period a year earlier.
In the filing · Page 1, Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
Total net sales $109,417 for the three months and $364,357 for the nine months ended Jun 27, 2026 (in millions)[S1]
Net sales is Apple's word for revenue. The same table shows both periods a year earlier, ended Jun 28, 2025.
In the filing · Page 3, Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
Total assets $383,266 at Jun 27, 2026; $359,241 at Sep 27, 2025 (in millions)[S1]
The comparison date is the end of fiscal 2025, not the same quarter a year earlier. A balance sheet is a snapshot of one day.
In the filing · Page 5, Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Cash generated by operating activities $116,996 for the nine months ended Jun 27, 2026 (in millions)[S1]
There is no three-month column here. Cash generated by operating activities is the net cash the day-to-day business brought in, after the cash it paid out to run it.
A 10-Q never shows a fourth quarter on its own. For an amount over a period, such as sales, the arithmetic is:
Fourth quarter = full year (from the 10-K) − first nine months (from the third-quarter 10-Q)
This does not work for balance sheet items, which are snapshots, not totals over a period.
Cityfort's stock pages compare quarterly revenue the way a 10-Q's three-month columns do. One quarter is set against the same quarter a year earlier. Each row below names its quarter and the filing it comes from.
See it in real companies
Quarterly revenue growth, year on year at companies on Cityfort
85 companies on Cityfort, listed A–Z (not ranked).
- Berkshire Hathaway
- +10.0%Q2 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2025 · derived from the two quarters' revenue · source S6, S12
- Bloom Energy
- +138.1%Q3 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2025 · derived from the two quarters' revenue · source S6, S14
- Booking Holdings
- −1.3%Q3 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2025 · derived from the two quarters' revenue · source S8, S5
- Caterpillar
- +17.3%Q3 FY2026 vs Q3 FY2025 · derived from the two quarters' revenue · source S13, S17
And 61 more companies on Cityfort; each stock page shows it in context.
From each company's filings, as cited on its Cityfort stock page. These figures change when a stock page is updated.
What does MD&A say in Apple's 10-Q?
MD&A runs from page 13 to page 18. The tables repeat the statements, and the value is in the sentences beside them.[S1]
In the filing · Page 15
Products and Services Performance iPhone $54,252; Services $30,739 (in millions), three months ended Jun 27, 2026[S1]
Each product line gets a sentence on why its sales changed. For Services, Apple names higher net sales from advertising and cloud services.
In the filing · Page 16
Gross Margin “the Company believes, in general, gross margins will be subject to volatility and downward pressure”[S1]
Gross margin is sales minus the cost of the goods and services sold. This sentence is the company's own forward-looking statement, not a forecast by Cityfort.
In the filing · Page 18
Capital Return Program $25.8 billion of common stock repurchased and $4.0 billion of dividends and dividend equivalents paid in the third quarter of 2026[S1]
A repurchase, or buyback, is the company buying its own shares. MD&A also states the quarterly dividend: $0.27 per share as of Jun 27, 2026.
What do Items 3 and 4 say in Apple's 10-Q?
Both are short and sit on page 19.[S1] Item 3 says market risk did not change materially in the first nine months of fiscal 2026.[S1]
Market risk here means exposure to changes in things like interest rates and currency rates. Item 3 points back to the 10-K for the full discussion.[S1]
In the filing · Page 19, Item 4
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures Disclosure controls and procedures concluded to be effective as of Jun 27, 2026[S1]
Disclosure controls are the checks that get required information into filings on time. The chief executive officer and chief financial officer reached this conclusion.
The same item reports no change in internal control over financial reporting that materially affected it in the quarter.[S1]
What is in Part II of Apple's 10-Q?
Form 10-Q lets a company leave out a Part II item that does not apply, or whose answer is no.[S2] Apple's Item 3, on defaults, says there were none.[S1]
In the filing · Page 20
Item 1. Legal Proceedings Digital Markets Act Investigations; Department of Justice Lawsuit; Epic Games; Other Legal Proceedings[S1][S2]
Each matter is described as of the filing. Form 10-Q asks for a legal proceeding when it first becomes reportable, and again after material developments.
In the filing · Page 21
Item 1A. Risk Factors First heading: future results depend on obtaining enough components and computing resources on commercially reasonable terms[S1]
The heading is paraphrased here. Apart from risks listed here and in its prior 10-Q, Apple says nothing changed materially since the 10-K.
In the filing · Page 24
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds: Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers 79,611 thousand shares in total, in rows for three periods within the quarter[S1][S2]
Form 10-Q asks for buybacks month by month. A footnote adds a further program of up to $100 billion, announced Apr 30, 2026.
In the filing · Page 25
Item 5. Other Information: Insider Trading Arrangements Two officers entered into Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, on May 5, 2026 and May 28, 2026[S1]
A Rule 10b5-1 plan sets an insider's future trades in advance. Each entry names the officer, the dates and the number of shares the plan covers.
Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K requires this each quarter. Companies must say whether any director or officer adopted or ended such a plan, with its main terms.[S4] Form 10-Q points to that rule in Item 5.[S2]
What does a 10-Q leave out?
- An audit. Interim statements may be unaudited, but an independent accountant must review them before filing.[S3] Apple labels its statements as unaudited.[S1]
- The fourth quarter. No 10-Q is needed for it; the 10-K covers the full year.[S2]
- Detail already in the 10-K. Notes that would mostly repeat the last annual statements may be left out.[S3] Apple's Note 1 says to read its statements together with its 2025 Form 10-K.[S1]
- Unchanged risks. Part II, Item 1A asks only for material changes to the 10-K's risk factors. Smaller reporting companies need not give it.[S2]
Cityfort's Apple stock page lists this 10-Q among its sources, with the source named beside each number.