US companies publish more about themselves than companies almost anywhere else, and it is all free. The SEC requires an annual report (10-K), three quarterly reports a year (10-Q), and a filing within days of anything important (8-K). The work is knowing where to look and in what order.
Here are seven steps, with Rocket Lab (RKLB), which builds rockets and satellite parts, as the example.
Step 1: Learn how it makes money
Read Item 1 (Business) of the latest 10-K, then the segment note in the financial statements, which splits revenue (and often profit) by business line.
Rocket Lab looks like a rocket company, but in 2025 its Space Systems segment (satellites and their parts) brought in $402.8 million, 66.9% of revenue. Launch Services was the other 33.1%. That changes what you need to understand about it.
Done when you can explain in two sentences who pays the company, for what, and why they choose it.
Step 2: Look at five years of numbers
From the income and cash flow statements, line up five years of revenue growth, gross margin, operating margin and free cash flow.
Rocket Lab’s revenue grew from $62.2 million in 2021 to $601.8 million in 2025, nearly ten times. Its gross margin rose from −3.0% to 34.4%. But its operating margin was still −38.0% in 2025, and free cash flow has been negative every year. A fast-growing company that is not yet profitable: that frames every step that follows.
Done when you know whether the business is growing, whether margins are rising or falling, and whether it produces cash.
Step 3: Check the balance sheet
Can the company pay its bills, how much does it owe, and where did its money come from? Rocket Lab had $2.3 billion of net cash in June 2026, mostly raised by selling new shares: its share count rose 32% in 18 months.
Done when you know whether the company could survive two bad years without raising money. (How to read a balance sheet goes line by line.)
Step 4: Compare what management said with what it did
Each quarter’s earnings release (filed with an 8-K) usually gives guidance for the next quarter. Line up the guidance with the results.
For the second quarter of 2025, Rocket Lab guided to $130–140 million of revenue and reported $144.5 million: above the top of its range. One quarter proves little; a run of them tells you whether management sets targets it can hit. Also read how it spent shareholders’ money: acquisitions, buybacks, new projects.
Done when you have checked at least four quarters of guidance against results.
Step 5: Read the risks
Item 1A (Risk Factors) lists everything that could go wrong, much of it boilerplate. Your job is to find the three that would hurt this company most. For a company like Rocket Lab that includes the development of its new, larger Neutron rocket, and how much of its revenue depends on government contracts.
Done when you can name three specific risks and what would show they are happening.
Step 6: Value it
Now, and only now, look at the price. Compare multiples (price/earnings, enterprise value/sales) with the company’s history and its peers, and work out what growth the price assumes.
Rocket Lab was valued at 57 times its sales in October 2026, with negative free cash flow. So earnings and cash-flow yields say nothing; the question is what revenue and margins it needs in five years to justify the price, and how likely that is. (Free cash flow explained covers FCF yield and the reverse DCF.)
Done when you can say what the price assumes, and whether you believe it.
Step 7: Write it down and keep watching
Write your reasons for owning the stock in a few sentences, plus what would prove you wrong. Then keep up: note the next earnings date (Rocket Lab’s next report was due November 9, 2026), read each new 10-Q and 8-K, and follow the news.
Where to find everything
- SEC EDGAR (sec.gov): every 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and proxy statement, free.
- The company’s investor relations site: earnings releases, presentations and call recordings.
- A 10-K is due 60 to 90 days after the fiscal year ends, depending on the company’s size; a 10-Q 40 to 45 days after each quarter.
Faster with Tuna Terminal
Tuna Terminal does steps 1 to 6 for any US, Hong Kong or China A-share company on one page, with every claim linked to its source, and keeps you posted for step 7 with an earnings calendar, a daily brief on the companies you follow and filings search. See the Rocket Lab summary for what the research covers.