To read US company financials from a 10-Q correctly, separate the three-month column from the year-to-date column: the income statement shows both, the cash flow statement shows only the year to date, and the fourth quarter never gets a 10-Q, so it has to be derived from the 10-K. Mixing these up is the most common error in quarterly US data.
The trap gets deeper when the fiscal year does not end in December. This article walks through the rules and a worked example: Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), whose fiscal 2026 had 53 weeks and ended on 3 September 2026.
What a 10-Q reports: quarter columns and year-to-date columns
A US company files three 10-Qs a year, one for each of the first three fiscal quarters, and a 10-K for the full year. Inside the 10-Q, each statement follows its own convention under SEC Regulation S-X:
| Statement | Periods in a Q3 10-Q | What it means for the quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Income statement | Three months and nine months, current and prior year | The quarter is reported directly |
| Balance sheet | Quarter-end and prior fiscal year-end | A point in time, no period issue |
| Cash flow statement | Nine months, current and prior year | The quarter must be derived: nine months minus six months |
| Fourth quarter (any statement) | No 10-Q; the 10-K reports the full year | Q4 = full year minus the first three quarters |
Source: SEC Regulation S-X, Article 10 (interim financial statements); general reporting practice, not company data.
The cash flow row is where most errors start. A nine-month operating cash flow figure sits in the Q3 10-Q looking like any other number, and a model or an AI answer that reads it as "Q3 cash flow" overstates the quarter by the first half's cash flow.
Micron's fiscal year: 52 or 53 weeks ending near 31 August
Micron's 10-Q states that its fiscal year is the 52- or 53-week period ending on the Thursday closest to 31 August, and that fiscal 2026 contains 53 weeks against 52 in fiscal 2025.1 That has three consequences for anyone lining Micron up against calendar-year companies:
Micron's "Q3 FY2026" ended on 28 May 2026, inside calendar Q2 2026.
Quarter-end dates move by a day or two each year (27 November 2025, 26 February 2026, 28 May 2026, 3 September 2026).
In a 53-week year one quarter is longer. In our data, Micron's Q4 FY2026 runs from 29 May to 3 September 2026, which is 14 weeks (our calculation from the reported period dates).
Worked example: Micron's US company financials, quarter by quarter
The table shows Micron's fiscal 2026 revenue and net income by discrete quarter as our data gives them, with the source of each figure.
| Fiscal 2026 period | Period ended | Revenue | Net income | How the quarter is obtained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 27 Nov 2025 | $13,643 million | $5,240 million | Reported in the Q1 10-Q |
| Q2 | 26 Feb 2026 | $23,860 million | $13,785 million | Three-month column, Q2 10-Q |
| Q3 | 28 May 2026 | $41,456 million | $28,243 million | Three-month column, Q3 10-Q |
| Q4 (14 weeks) | 3 Sep 2026 | $54,229 million | $37,701 million | Derived: FY2026 10-K minus Q1 to Q3 |
| Full year FY2026 | 3 Sep 2026 | $133,188 million | $84,969 million | Reported in the 10-K, filed 9 Oct 2026 |
Source: Micron Technology, Inc. Forms 10-Q for Q1 to Q3 FY2026 and Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 3 September 2026 (SEC XBRL), via Clarifo company financials as of 28 October 2026; USD.2
For the income statement, the 10-Q three-month columns give the first three quarters directly. The fourth quarter has no filing of its own: our data derives it as the full year minus the first three quarters and marks it as derived, and the four quarters add up to the $133,188 million reported for the year. We do not derive a Q4 EPS by subtraction, because per-share figures do not add across quarters when the share count changes.
The cash flow statement: year to date only
Micron's Q3 10-Q reports net cash provided by operating activities of $45,702 million for the nine months ended 28 May 2026, against $11,795 million for the same nine months a year earlier. The Q2 10-Q reports $20,314 million for the six months ended 26 February 2026.3 Neither is a quarterly figure. The table shows the reported year-to-date figures next to the discrete quarters in our data.
| Operating cash flow, FY2026 | Reported (year to date) | Discrete quarter in our data |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 (three months) | $8,411 million | $8,411 million |
| Q2 (six months) | $20,314 million | $11,903 million (six months minus Q1) |
| Q3 (nine months) | $45,702 million | $25,388 million (nine months minus six months) |
| Q4 (full year, 10-K) | $89,675 million | $43,973 million (full year minus Q1 to Q3) |
Source: Micron Technology, Inc. Forms 10-Q for Q2 and Q3 FY2026 (MD&A cash flow tables) and Form 10-K for FY2026 (SEC XBRL), via Clarifo company financials as of 28 October 2026; USD.23
Read Micron's Q3 10-Q cash flow statement as a quarter and you would report $45,702 million. The quarter was $25,388 million.
Capital expenditure follows the same rule. The Q3 10-Q says investing activities for the first nine months of fiscal 2026 consisted primarily of $19.60 billion of expenditures for property, plant and equipment; the discrete Q3 figure in our data is $7,826 million.3 Free cash flow for a single quarter therefore needs two derived numbers, never the year-to-date ones.
A checklist for quarterly US company financials
Read the column header
"Three months ended" or "nine months ended". On cash flow it is always year to date in a 10-Q.
Map fiscal to calendar quarters
Use the period end date, not the fiscal label. Micron's Q3 FY2026 is calendar Q2 2026.
Derive Q4 from the 10-K
Full year minus the first three quarters, flagged as derived, and watch for 53-week years.
Our company pages and the Data API apply these rules for every US company: quarterly figures are discrete, derived quarters carry a flag and the filings they came from, and each period shows its own start and end dates. The same data answers questions in Claude and ChatGPT:
Using Clarifo, show Micron's operating cash flow and capital expenditure for each quarter of fiscal 2026 as discrete quarters, with the period dates, and mark which quarters are derived.
For how this fits into a full research workflow, see equity research data platform and how to use Clarifo in Claude for company research workflows.
Open any US company page to see discrete quarters, year-to-date figures and the fiscal period dates side by side, each linked to its 10-Q or 10-K.
Micron Technology, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 28 May 2026, Part I Item 2 (MD&A): SEC EDGAR.
Micron Technology, Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 3 September 2026, filed 9 October 2026: SEC EDGAR; Forms 10-Q for Q1 FY2026 (SEC EDGAR), Q2 FY2026 (SEC EDGAR) and Q3 FY2026 (SEC EDGAR).
Micron Technology, Inc., Form 10-Q for Q3 FY2026, MD&A, Cash Flows (nine months ended 28 May 2026): SEC EDGAR; Form 10-Q for Q2 FY2026, MD&A, p. 34 (six months ended 26 February 2026): SEC EDGAR.
Not investment advice. Figures are based on data reported by the companies.