/ 10-K for sales

How to read a 10-K for sales

By Konstantinos Tsetsos, Co-founder, Kalko · Last updated October 22, 2026

Read three parts of the 10-K. Item 1 covers what the company sells, Item 1A its risks, and Item 7 management's view of the year. Find the plans and problems your product touches, then quote the line and the filing date in your outreach.

Key takeaways

Item 1A lists the most significant risks, and companies generally list them in order of importance (SEC).
Item 7, the MD&A, gives the company's perspective on the results of the past year (SEC).
SEC EDGAR full-text search finds a phrase across all filings for free.

Which parts of a 10-K matter for sales?

Section	What it covers	What to look for
Item 1: Business	What the company sells and how it operates	New products, markets or segments
Item 1A: Risk Factors	The most significant risks, in order of importance	Risks your product reduces, such as outages or system migrations
Item 7: MD&A	Management's view of the year's results	Plans, investments and problems management names

How do you search 10-Ks for signals?

Open SEC EDGAR full-text search.
Search for a phrase your buyers use, such as system migration, in quotes.
Filter by form type 10-K and by filing date.
Open each result and read the sentence around the phrase.
Copy the exact line and the filing date into your account brief.

How can you do this for every account?

Kalko does this research for every account in your market and keeps the source and date on each claim. It starts at $99 per month, with a 200-credit trial.