How many US-listed companies substantially rewrote their risk factors this year?

13% of US-listed companies substantially rewrote the risk-factor or management-discussion section of their latest annual report compared with the year before; 3.3% did so while their language also turned more negative or more hedged.

Who is counted

Companies listed in the US whose latest annual report filed with the SEC (Form 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for foreign issuers; fiscal 2025 or 2026) could be compared with the previous year’s. Each company counts once, from its most recent reading in the readings from the last 180 days.

How it was measured

The Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis sections were compared with the prior year’s text. A rewrite is a drop in text similarity of 0.23 or more on a 0 to 1 scale in either section; tone is read with a standard financial-language word list (negative, uncertain and weak-modal words).

Why it matters

Most companies carry their risk factors forward almost word for word. A substantial rewrite means management changed what it is willing to warn investors about. It describes how the company sees its risks now; on its own it does not predict the next year’s results.

By sector (SEC industry classification)

Sector (SEC industry classification)	Share	Companies
Finance Services	22%	77
Gold and Silver Ores	20%	56
Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc.	16%	61
Services-Business Services, NEC	16%	94
Semiconductors & Related Devices	14%	92
Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas	12%	75
Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation	12%	59
Services-Prepackaged Software	12%	192
Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus	12%	113
State Commercial Banks	11%	88
Real Estate Investment Trusts	11%	144
Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance	10%	48

Groups with fewer than 40 companies are left out rather than shown on a thin sample.

What this does not show

• A rewrite can follow a merger, a spin-off or a new legal team as easily as a new risk.
• Text change shows that the disclosure moved, not which way the business did.
• No company is named here. Figures are recomputed as companies are re-read, so they move a little from month to month; the date above is the date this figure was true.

Cite this

Qravitas (2026). How many US-listed companies rewrote their risk factors this year. Qravitas Data, updated 2 Nov 2026. https://qravitas.com/insights/annual-report-risk-factor-rewrites.html

Free to quote and reuse with attribution and a link (CC BY 4.0). The figures are also available as JSON and CSV, and the company-level readings as open evidence. Questions about the method: hello@qravitas.com.