Definition

Form 8-K

The current report — filed within four business days of a material event rather than on a calendar. Earnings releases, executive changes, acquisitions, and financing events all arrive as 8-Ks, each tagged with an Item number that names the event class. It is the fastest-moving form on EDGAR, and the pulse a daily filing read follows.

Formula

8-K = material event + Item number + exhibits, within 4 business days

Drivers — what actually moves it

Materiality: the Item taxonomy defines which events compel a filing — results, departures, deals, defaults.
Timing: four business days puts events on the record long before the next quarterly report can.

Where it comes from

Not a filing concept — the event-driven form itself; press-release exhibits carry the substance. On EDGAR under the company's filings, form type 8-K; the Item number in the filing index names the event class before you open it.

Sector caveats — where this breaks

An 8-K earnings exhibit is a press release, not audited statements — the 10-Q/10-K remain the figures of record.

Drill it in a live lesson Form 10-K Form 10-Q

Educational use only — not investment advice. Figures come from public SEC filings; Echelon teaches you to analyze data, it never recommends buying or selling any security.