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What is SEC EDGAR?

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s primary system for companies to submit official filings. It serves as the central repository for corporate financial information and “increases the efficiency, transparency, and fairness of the securities markets” by providing free public access to this data.
Important: EDGAR® and SEC® are trademarks of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Edgar MCP is not affiliated with or approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Key Filing Types

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Periodic Reports

Purpose: Comprehensive annual overview of the company’s business and financial conditionFiling Deadline:
  • Large accelerated filers: 60 days after fiscal year-end
  • Accelerated filers: 75 days after fiscal year-end
  • Non-accelerated filers: 90 days after fiscal year-end
Key Sections:
  • Business overview and strategy
  • Risk factors
  • Financial statements and data
  • Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
SEC Edgar MCP Tools:
  • get_recent_filings with form_type=“10-K”
  • get_filing_content for full text
  • get_financial_statements for XBRL data
  • get_filing_sections for specific sections
Purpose: Quarterly financial performance and position updatesFiling Deadline: 40-45 days after quarter-end (varies by filer type)Key Sections:
  • Condensed financial statements
  • MD&A for the quarter
  • Legal proceedings updates
  • Material changes in financial condition
SEC Edgar MCP Tools:
  • get_recent_filings with form_type=“10-Q”
  • get_financial_statements for quarterly data
  • get_xbrl_concepts for specific metrics
Purpose: Reports material events or corporate changes within 4 business daysFiling Deadline: Within 4 business days of the triggering eventCommon Items:
  • Item 1.01: Material agreements
  • Item 2.02: Results of operations
  • Item 5.02: Officer/director changes
  • Item 7.01: Regulation FD disclosure
  • Item 8.01: Other events
SEC Edgar MCP Tools:
  • analyze_8k_filing for detailed event analysis
  • get_recent_filings with form_type=“8-K”

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Proxy and Information Statements

Purpose: Information provided to shareholders before annual meetingsKey Information:
  • Executive compensation details
  • Board of directors information
  • Shareholder proposals
  • Corporate governance matters
Timing: Filed in advance of annual shareholder meetings

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Ownership and Insider Trading

Purpose: Filed by new insiders within 10 days of becoming an insiderWho Files: Officers, directors, and 10%+ shareholdersSEC Edgar MCP Tools:
  • get_insider_transactions
  • analyze_form_345
Purpose: Reports changes in insider holdingsFiling Deadline: Within 2 business days of the transactionTransaction Types:
  • Purchases and sales
  • Option exercises
  • Gifts and transfers
  • Stock awards and grants
SEC Edgar MCP Tools:
  • get_insider_transactions for recent activity
  • analyze_form_345 for detailed transaction analysis
Purpose: Annual report of changes in ownership not previously reportedFiling Deadline: 45 days after fiscal year-endCovers: Transactions that were exempt from Form 4 reporting

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XBRL: The Data Standard

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What is XBRL?

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a standardized format for business and financial data that makes information machine-readable and comparable across companies.
SEC Edgar MCP performs direct XBRL parsing to extract financial data with exact precision, maintaining the numeric accuracy as filed with the SEC.

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XBRL Namespaces

US-GAAP

US Generally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesStandard concepts like:
  • us-gaap:Assets
  • us-gaap:Revenues
  • us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss

Company-Specific

Company ExtensionsCustom concepts for unique items:
  • aapl:iPhoneRevenue
  • tsla:AutomotiveSales
  • msft:ProductivityRevenue

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XBRL Structure

<ix:nonFraction contextRef="Q32023" name="us-gaap:Revenues" unitRef="USD" 
                decimals="-6" scale="6">29900</ix:nonFraction>
Components:
  • Context: Time period and entity information
  • Concept: What is being measured (e.g., Revenue)
  • Unit: Measurement unit (USD, shares, etc.)
  • Value: The actual reported value
  • Scale: Multiplication factor (scale=“6” means multiply by 1,000,000)

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Data Quality and Precision

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SEC Edgar MCP’s Approach

Direct Parsing

Extracts data directly from XBRL using regex patterns, not API approximations

Exact Precision

Maintains exact numeric precision with proper scale factors applied

Source Attribution

Every response includes SEC URLs for independent verification

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Common Data Challenges

Problem: XBRL values often use scale factors (e.g., scale=“6” for millions)SEC Edgar MCP Solution: Automatically applies scale factors to provide actual valuesExample:
  • XBRL value: 29900 with scale=“6”
  • Actual value: 29,900,000,000 (29.9 billion)
Problem: Same concept can have multiple values for different periodsSEC Edgar MCP Solution: Provides period context and selects most recent values by defaultExample: Revenue for Q1, Q2, Q3, and annual periods all in same filing
Problem: Companies create custom XBRL concepts not in standard taxonomiesSEC Edgar MCP Solution: Discovers and extracts both standard and company-specific conceptsExample: Apple’s iPhone-specific revenue breakdowns

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Filing Lifecycle

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1. Preparation Phase

  • Companies prepare financial statements and disclosures
  • XBRL tagging applied to financial data
  • Legal and compliance review

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2. Filing Submission

  • Electronic submission through EDGAR system
  • SEC assigns accession number (format: 0000320193-23-000064)
  • Automatic validation checks

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3. Public Availability

  • Immediate: Filing appears in EDGAR database
  • Processing: SEC systems index and process the data
  • API Access: Data becomes available through SEC APIs

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4. SEC Edgar MCP Access

  • Real-time access to filed data
  • Direct XBRL parsing for financial precision
  • Structured tool responses with verification links

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Data Sources and APIs

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SEC EDGAR REST API

Company Facts

Endpoint: /api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK{cik}.jsonPurpose: Aggregated financial facts across all filingsSEC Edgar MCP Usage: get_company_facts

Submissions

Endpoint: /api/xbrl/submissions/CIK{cik}.jsonPurpose: Complete filing history and metadataSEC Edgar MCP Usage: get_recent_filings

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Direct Filing Access

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/{cik}/{accession-no-dashes}/{accession-no}.txt
SEC Edgar MCP Usage:
  • get_filing_content for full text
  • get_xbrl_concepts for direct XBRL parsing
  • analyze_8k_filing for structured analysis

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Regulatory Context

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SEC Reporting Requirements

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Compliance and Accuracy

Public companies face significant penalties for inaccurate or late filings. SEC Edgar MCP provides access to this official, legally-binding financial data.
Key Points:
  • Legal Accuracy: Filed data is subject to CEO/CFO certification
  • Audit Requirements: Financial statements audited by independent firms
  • Real-time Updates: 8-K filings provide timely disclosure of material events
  • Standardization: XBRL enables consistent cross-company analysis

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Using SEC EDGAR Data Effectively

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Best Practices

Verify Sources

Always check SEC URLs provided in SEC Edgar MCP responses for independent verification

Understand Context

Consider filing dates, periods, and any restatements when analyzing data

Compare Consistently

Use same periods and concepts when comparing companies

Read Disclosures

Financial statements include important footnotes and disclosures

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Common Analysis Patterns

  1. Trend Analysis: Compare same metrics across multiple periods
  2. Peer Comparison: Analyze similar companies using consistent concepts
  3. Event Impact: Use 8-K filings to understand material events
  4. Insider Activity: Monitor Form 4 filings for insider sentiment

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Next Steps

MCP Protocol

Learn how SEC Edgar MCP uses the Model Context Protocol

Tools Overview

Explore all available SEC Edgar MCP tools