11-K (Annual Report for Employee Stock Plans)
A separate annual report on how employee retirement and stock purchase plans ran that year — the star here is the «plan», not the company.
In plain terms
When an employee retirement plan or employee stock ownership plan holds company stock, the plan itself files its yearly accounts with the SEC. That filing is the 11-K.
It is not the company's financial statements. It is a separate report setting out "how much the plan managed, and how much company stock sits inside it."
What it tells you
It lists the assets the plan holds and the share of those that is company stock. That shows how much of employees' retirement money is tied up in their own employer's shares.
It also shows how much employees put in that year and how much the company added. This is one of the ways a company pays people in stock.
Formula
11-K = annual report of an employee benefit or stock plan Covers = 401(k), employee stock ownership, employee stock purchase plans (ESPP) and the like that hold company stock Deadline = generally 90 days after the plan's fiscal year end · 180 days if it follows pension rules
What high or low means
If [S-8](form-s8) is about "registering stock set aside for employee compensation," the 11-K is the accounting of "how that plan actually ran."
Our screens show this form in the recent filings list, and you can see the size of what the company paid in stock through [stock-based compensation](sbc) and the trend in shares outstanding.
**It's easy to confuse this with company results.** The numbers in an 11-K are the plan's assets, not the company's revenue or profit.
The plan's fiscal year can differ from the company's. So it's normal for the filing date to look out of step with the 10-K.
Many companies don't file this form. If the plan doesn't hold company stock or isn't subject to registration, there's no reason to file.
Metrics to read alongside
See it in real stocks
Search US stocks on Stocklore to see 11-K and other financial metrics alongside the sector benchmark.
This explanation is for information and reference only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investment decisions and their consequences are your own.