A good 10-K search starts with the Item that holds the answer, then searches that section by concept rather than by exact wording, and ends on the page where the figure is printed. Item 7 (MD&A) explains why a number moved, Item 8 holds the audited statements and notes, and Item 1A lists the risks.
We are Clarifo, a financial data service for US and Nordic listed companies, and our filing search is built around that idea: every passage it returns comes with its company, filing, section and a link to the page. Below is a map of the 10-K, the way to search it, and one figure from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM, NYSE) traced from the number to the sentence that explains it.
Where things live in a 10-K
The table lists the Items of Form 10-K that answer most research questions, and what to look for in each.
| Item | What it contains | Search it for |
|---|---|---|
| Item 1, Business | Products, segments, customers, competition, employees | What the company does and how it is organised |
| Item 1A, Risk Factors | Risks management considers material | New or changed risks, such as tariffs, regulation or concentration |
| Item 1C, Cybersecurity | Cyber risk management and governance | Incidents and oversight |
| Item 7, MD&A | Management's explanation of results, liquidity and capital resources | Why revenue, margins or cash flow changed |
| Item 7A, Market Risk | Interest rate, currency and commodity exposure | Sensitivities to rates and prices |
| Item 8, Financial Statements | Audited statements and the notes | Accounting policies, segments, debt, leases, tax |
Source: structure of SEC Form 10-K (Parts I and II). Some companies present the content in their annual report layout with a cross-reference index to the Items.
Two habits save time. Look for the explanation of a change in Item 7, and the definition or accounting policy behind the same line in the notes in Item 8. Then compare: if MD&A and the statements disagree on a figure, one of them is a different measure, often a non-GAAP one.
How to run a 10-K search by concept, not keyword
Keyword search fails on filings because companies describe the same thing in different words. One 10-K says "net interest income", another "NII"; one says "headwinds from tariffs", another "trade policy". A search by meaning finds the passage even when the words differ, as long as the question names the concept.
Company, year, form
Pin the company, the fiscal year and the document type (10-K or 10-Q) before you search, so results from other filers or periods cannot leak in.
Describe what you want
Ask "what drove the change in net interest income in 2025", not "NII". Add synonyms the company might use.
Open the passage
Read the sentence in its page, check the period and units, and keep the link with the figure.
In Clarifo each result shows the company, the filing, the section such as Item 7, the printed page where the filing has one, and a link that opens the SEC document at the quoted text.
Worked example: one JPMorgan Chase figure traced to its MD&A passage
Our data shows JPMorgan Chase's total net revenue for FY2025 as $182,447 million. That is the headline. The question a reader asks next is what drove it, and the answer is in the MD&A of the FY2025 10-K.
A search of JPMorgan Chase's FY2025 10-K for "net interest income increased in 2025 compared with the prior year, driven by" returns the MD&A summary of the year on page 47. It states that total net revenue was $182.4 billion, up 3 percent, and that net interest income was $95.4 billion, up 3 percent, driven by higher Markets net interest income, higher revolving balances in Card Services, higher wholesale deposit balances and investment securities activity, largely offset by deposit margin compression and lower rates.1
"Net interest income ("NII") of $95.4 billion, up 3%". JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K for FY2025, p. 47
The same search also returns the net interest income discussion on page 52, which adds the balance sheet side: average interest-earning assets of $3.8 trillion, up $297 billion, with a net yield of 2.50 percent on a fully taxable-equivalent basis, down 13 basis points.1
The figure in the dataset ($182,447 million) and the figure in the text ($182.4 billion) agree once rounding is taken into account. That match is the point of the exercise: the number comes from the statements, the explanation comes from MD&A, and both carry a link to the page.
Three 10-K search prompts for Claude and ChatGPT
With our read-only MCP server enabled in Claude or ChatGPT, these prompts run the same search and return the passages with their page links. Setup is one click; see Clarifo in ChatGPT.
Using Clarifo, search JPMorgan Chase's FY2025 10-K for what drove the change in net interest income. Quote the sentence, give the page number and link the filing page.
Using Clarifo, compare the Item 1A risk factors in Exxon Mobil's FY2025 and FY2024 10-Ks. List risks that are new or worded differently, each with a quote and a page link.
Using Clarifo, find the accounting policy note on revenue recognition in Amazon's FY2025 10-K and summarise it in five bullet points, each with a link to the passage.
For a longer workflow that starts from a number and ends in a cited answer, see how to check an AI equity research answer against its source.
Search the full text of 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filings by concept, with every passage linked to its filing page, next to the company's reported figures.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 Dec 2025 (accession 0001628280-26-008131), MD&A, pp. 47 and 52: filing page, p. 47; filing page, p. 52. Total net revenue of $182,447 million for FY2025 from the same filing's financial data.
Not investment advice. Figures are based on data reported by the companies.