One company met our criteria from the four 10-K annual reports filed with the SEC on 18 August 2026. To qualify, a company must have filed an annual 10-K report on the target date and have a prior-year 10-K available for a direct year-over-year comparison. A prior-year filing was not available for TAYLOR DEVICES, INC., Fabrinet and Axil Brands, Inc., so they are excluded from the ranking.
SEC What Changed Methodology
Each company is scored on how similar its current annual filing text is to the prior year. Scores run from 0 to 1 — a score of 1 means the language is essentially unchanged; a lower score means more has changed. We flag three sections that carry the most disclosure signal: Business, Risk Factors, and MD&A. Recent research suggests that lower scores indicate that a company has made significant changes to their filings, these changes are often buried in the filings. If a company was to report positive news, they would likely do so in the form of a press release or statement on their website. The large changers have often underperformed in the market, while the stable-language filers have earned positive abnormal returns.
Key Takeaways
- MERCURY SYSTEMS INC (Medium) — Mercury is flagging a real near-term margin risk from tariffs while continuing to acknowledge activism-related pressure.
Ranking Table
| Rank | Company | CIK | Full Filing Similarity | Business Similarity | Risk Factors Similarity | MD&A Similarity | Most Changed Section | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MERCURY SYSTEMS INC | 1049521 | 0.983 | 0.993 | 0.674 | 0.998 | Risk Factors | medium |
MERCURY SYSTEMS INC
| Rank | 1 |
|---|---|
| Lowest similarity section | Risk Factors |
| Assessment | medium |
| SEC filings | 2026 10-K HTML/iXBRL (SEC page, raw text) | 2025 10-K HTML/iXBRL (SEC page, raw text) |
Mercury Systems’ filing adds a clearer warning that tariffs could hurt gross margins in fiscal 2026, even though management did not see a material cost increase in fiscal 2025. The company also keeps shareholder activism on the risk list and updates its business description to emphasize a broader edge-processing platform strategy. Overall, the filing reads as a modest but notable increase in caution around margins and governance.
Main Changes
- The Risk Factors section now explicitly says tariffs could affect fiscal 2026 gross margins, after noting there were no material cost increases in fiscal 2025.
- The company continues to warn that shareholder activism could cause significant expense, proxy contests, litigation, and management distraction, but the new filing places that risk alongside broader operating pressures.
- The Business section was refreshed to describe Mercury as a "global leader" with a "Mercury Processing Platform" and to emphasize a broader edge-processing strategy across silicon-to-system solutions.
Watch Items
- Tariff exposure matters because management is flagging a direct margin risk for the next fiscal year, which could pressure profitability if supply-chain costs rise.
- The continued activism language suggests governance or strategic pressure could resurface, potentially affecting capital allocation or strategic decisions.
- The more expansive business description reinforces a push toward integrated, mission-critical edge processing, which may support differentiation but also implies execution risk.
Important Filing Changes
We expect to continue to incur expenditures similar to the free cash flow adjustment described above, and investors should not infer from our presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure that these expenditures reflect all of our obligations which require cash. The impact and any associated risks related to these policies on our business operations are discussed throughout Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations where such policies affect our reported and expected financial results. We believe the following critical accounting policies to be those most important to the portrayal of our financial position and results of operations and those that require the most subjective judgment.
RISK FACTORS: Risks Related to Business Operations and Our Industry We may be unable to increase production to satisfy the increasing demand for our products. We may be unable to successfully execute our production plans and meet growing demand for our products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
However, if business conditions deteriorate, the Company may be required to record impairment losses, and or increase the amortization of intangibles in the future. Any impairment charges that the Company may record in the future could be material to the results of operations and financial condition. During fiscal 2025, the Company acquired completed technologies of $ 4,866 with a useful life of 7.5 years in connection with the Company’s asset acquisition of Star Lab.
RISK FACTORS: Risks Related to Business Operations and Our Industry We may be unable to increase production to satisfy the increasing demand for our products. We may be unable to successfully execute our production plans and meet growing demand for our products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our backlog and new bookings have increased significantly, reflecting strong demand from our prime contractor customers and end users.
BUSINESS Our Company Mercury Systems is a technology company that delivers mission-critical processing to the edge – where signals and data are collected – to solve the most pressing aerospace and defense challenges. Mercury’s products and solutions are deployed in more than 300 programs and across 35 countries.
BUSINESS Our Company Mercury Systems is a global leader in aerospace and defense electronics, providing breakthrough capabilities in signal and data processing. With a four-decade legacy of innovation that spans silicon to systems and radio frequency (“RF”) front ends to effectors, we accelerate commercial technology adoption to deliver powerful and secure mission-critical processing solutions to the edge.
Why SEC Filing Changes Matter
Research by Cohen et al. (Lazy Prices, 2020) — using the complete history of SEC filings from 1995 to 2014 — shows that when firms make active changes to their annual disclosures, those changes convey an important signal about future operations and returns. A portfolio that shorted "changers" and bought "non-changers" earned over 22% per year in annual alpha historically. Changes to the Risk Factors section, Business description, and language referring to the executive team were especially informative. Critically, these returns accrued gradually as information was later revealed through news and earnings — not at the time of filing — suggesting many investors remain inattentive to these simple, public signals. This snapshot is a starting point for deeper investigation, not a buy or sell recommendation.
For more like this, see the full SEC What Changed archive, browse more equity research reports, or subscribe to Quantitative Research Notes for new filing-change alerts as soon as they publish.
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