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Form 6-K: Parse Foreign Private Issuer Reports with Python

Form 6-K is the current report for non-US companies listed on US exchanges. Where a US company files an 8-K for material events, a foreign private issuer files a 6-K. EdgarTools parses these filings into structured Python objects, giving you the cover page metadata, exhibit list, and press release content in a few lines.

from edgar import Company

tm = Company("TM")
filing = tm.get_filings(form="6-K")[3]
six_k = filing.obj()
six_k

Form 6-K Toyota quarterly earnings report parsed with Python edgartools

Four lines to get a parsed 6-K with company metadata, report month, file number, and all exhibits.

Read Cover Page Metadata

Every 6-K has a standardized cover page with identifying information. These fields are parsed automatically:

six_k.company               # "TOYOTA MOTOR CORP/"
six_k.form                  # "6-K"
six_k.filing_date           # "2026-02-06"
six_k.date_of_report        # "February 06, 2026"
six_k.report_month          # "February 2026"
six_k.commission_file_number  # "001-14948"
six_k.annual_report_form    # "20-F" or "40-F"
six_k.content_description   # What this filing contains

The content_description comes from the "Material Contained in this Report" section of the cover page. It usually summarizes what exhibits are attached or what event prompted the filing.

The annual_report_form field reflects whether the issuer files annual reports on Form 20-F (most foreign private issuers) or Form 40-F (Canadian companies with US cross-listings).

Access Exhibits

6-K content is almost always in exhibits rather than inline in the cover page. The exhibits property returns all non-graphic attachments:

six_k.has_exhibits   # True
six_k.exhibits       # List of Attachment objects

for ex in six_k.exhibits:
    print(f"{ex.document_type}: {ex.description}")

# EX-99.1: FY2026 THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL SUMMARY
# EX-99.2: FY2026 THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

Each exhibit has:

Property What it is
document_type Type code ("EX-99.1", "EX-4.1", etc.)
description Human-readable description
sequence_number Position in filing package
document Filename (e.g., "exhibit99-1.htm")

To download and read an exhibit:

exhibit = six_k.exhibits[0]
content = exhibit.download()   # Returns raw HTML or text

Access Press Releases

Earnings announcements and other company news arrive as EX-99.x press release exhibits. The press_releases property filters for these:

from edgar import Company

nvs = Company("NVS")
filing = nvs.get_filings(form="6-K")[2]
six_k = filing.obj()
six_k

Form 6-K Novartis quarterly financial report with EX-99 exhibits

if six_k.has_press_release:
    releases = six_k.press_releases
    pr = releases[0]

    pr.text()         # Plain text
    pr.html()         # HTML
    pr.to_markdown()  # Markdown
    pr.open()         # Open in browser

press_releases matches exhibits with document types EX-99, EX-99.1, or EX-99.01, or any exhibit description containing "RELEASE".

Search Across Multiple Companies

To pull 6-K filings from a specific company, or scan recent filings across all foreign issuers:

from edgar import Company, get_filings

# One company
shel = Company("SHEL")
shel_filings = shel.get_filings(form="6-K").head(10)

# All recent 6-K filings
recent = get_filings(form="6-K").head(20)
for filing in recent:
    six_k = filing.obj()
    if six_k.has_press_release:
        print(f"{six_k.company}: {six_k.content_description[:80]}")

Get the Full Text

text() returns the complete filing content, including all exhibit text rendered as plain text:

content = six_k.text()
print(content[:2000])

This is useful for passing filing content to language models or full-text search pipelines.

XBRL Financials (Rare)

XBRL is filed with fewer than 3% of 6-K filings. When present, it uses the IFRS taxonomy rather than US-GAAP:

if six_k.financials:
    financials = six_k.financials
    financials.income_statement
    financials.balance_sheet
    financials.cash_flow_statement

Most earnings data in 6-K filings is in HTML tables inside EX-99.x exhibits, not in XBRL. If you need structured financial data from a 6-K, parse the press release exhibits directly.

Common Use Cases

Collect earnings releases from a foreign issuer

from edgar import Company

tsm = Company("TSM")
earnings_filings = []

for filing in tsm.get_filings(form="6-K").head(30):
    six_k = filing.obj()
    if six_k.has_press_release:
        earnings_filings.append(filing)

for f in earnings_filings:
    six_k = f.obj()
    print(f"{f.filing_date}: {six_k.content_description[:100]}")

Scan for AGM notices

from edgar import Company

nvs = Company("NVS")
for filing in nvs.get_filings(form="6-K").head(50):
    six_k = filing.obj()
    desc = six_k.content_description or ""
    if any(kw in desc.lower() for kw in ["annual general", "agm", "shareholders meeting"]):
        print(f"{filing.filing_date}: {desc[:120]}")

Identify debt offering filings

from edgar import Company

shel = Company("SHEL")
for filing in shel.get_filings(form="6-K").head(20):
    six_k = filing.obj()
    # Debt offerings often attach underwriting agreements (EX-1.1) or indentures (EX-4.x)
    for ex in six_k.exhibits:
        if ex.document_type and ex.document_type.startswith("EX-1"):
            print(f"{filing.filing_date}: {ex.document_type} - {ex.description}")

Get AI-readable context

The to_context() method produces a compact string formatted for language model prompts:

# Standard context (~300 tokens)
six_k.to_context()

# Minimal (~100 tokens) — just the key facts
six_k.to_context(detail='minimal')

# Full (~500+ tokens) — includes cover page text
six_k.to_context(detail='full')

How 6-K Differs from 8-K

6-K and 8-K both report material events, but they have different structures:

6-K 8-K
Filers Foreign private issuers US domestic companies
Items None -- no numbered item structure Items 1.01 through 9.01
Content location Exhibits (EX-99.x) or inline cover page Exhibit + item text
XBRL Rare (~2-3%), IFRS taxonomy DEI metadata only
Filing trigger Material information disclosed in home country Specified corporate events
Amendment 6-K/A 8-K/A

Because 6-K has no item structure, there is no items property and no ['2.02'] item lookup. Content analysis relies on content_description from the cover page and the text of individual exhibits.

Metadata Quick Reference

Property Type Description Example
company str Company name "TOYOTA MOTOR CORP/"
form str Form type "6-K" or "6-K/A"
filing_date str Date filed with SEC "2026-02-06"
date_of_report str Period of report (formatted) "February 06, 2026"
report_month str \| None Reporting month from cover "February 2026"
commission_file_number str \| None SEC file number "001-14948"
annual_report_form str \| None Annual report form type "20-F" or "40-F"
content_description str \| None What the filing contains "English translation..."
has_exhibits bool Has content exhibits? True
has_press_release bool Has EX-99.x press release? True

Methods Quick Reference

Call Returns What it does
six_k.exhibits list[Attachment] Non-graphic exhibit attachments
six_k.press_releases PressReleases \| None EX-99.x press release exhibits
six_k.financials Financials \| None XBRL financials (rare; IFRS)
six_k.text() str Full filing text including exhibits
six_k.to_context(detail) str AI-optimized context string

Things to Know

No item structure. 6-K filings have no numbered items. Do not try to access six_k['2.02'] or six_k.items -- those properties belong to EightK, not SixK.

Cover page metadata depends on formatting. report_month, commission_file_number, and annual_report_form are parsed by pattern matching against the cover page text. A small number of filings use non-standard formatting and may return None for these fields.

XBRL uses IFRS. When XBRL is present, it uses the IFRS taxonomy, not US-GAAP. Concept names differ from what you'd find in domestic company filings.

exhibits excludes graphics. JPG, GIF, and PNG attachments are filtered out. Only text and HTML documents appear in the list.

6-K/A is an amendment. The form property will be "6-K/A" for amendments. The SixK class handles both.

Filing volume varies. Active foreign issuers file multiple 6-Ks per month (exchange notifications, executive changes, dividend announcements). TSMC and Toyota each have over 1,000 on record.