Skip Cable News—This Simple Search Reveals What’s Really Happening to the Economy Before They Tell You

In the first six months of 2025, more than 40 companies mentioned the negative impact of the second Trump administration’s deportations on their bottom line, according to an analysis by Wired and our own review of company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Scarcely a topic previously, these disclosures warned of labor shortages, potential industry devastation, and recession risk—concerns companies were likely to avoid discussing publicly because of the topic’s controversial nature.

But it’s not just immigration where politicians debate policy and companies stay publicly neutral, while their SEC filings reveal an unvarnished view of their economic analysis. Analysts have been quietly mining these quarterly and annual filings for early signals, often spotting major trends months before they become headline news. Now you can, too, once you know where to look.

Why SEC Filings Often Tell the Real Story

Federal law strips away corporate America’s ability to sugarcoat bad news for investors or sidestep public controversies. SEC regulations explicitly require companies to disclose “material quantitative changes in market risk exposures between the current and preceding fiscal years” and then outline their plans for managing these risks. The regulations are written to ensure specificity—companies can’t get away with saying how something might affect them but must quantify the impact whenever possible. Companies that fail to do so face serious legal risks for misleading investors.

The legal requirement to disclose material risks (information important enough to influence whether investors buy, sell, or hold a stock) means companies often reveal concerns in SEC filings that they’ve avoided discussing publicly, especially those related to politically sensitive topics. For example, a KPMG analysis of Form 10-Q filings (mandated quarterly financial updates for publicly traded companies) from April to June 2025 revealed a sharp increase in disclosures about tariffs and trade policy. Of the Fortune 500 SEC registrants analyzed, 94% mentioned tariff- and trade-related concerns, even as most executives remained diplomatic or quiet about the issue in public interviews, perhaps because their views differed from the White House’s rosy scenarios.

The pattern extends beyond political hot topics. Companies routinely use SEC filings to signal economic trouble ahead, reveal competitive threats, or acknowledge technological changes that are likely to alter their business practices.

Where To Find the Truth in Corporate Documents

The most revealing insights typically appear in two specific areas: the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and Risk Factors sections:

The MD&A section: Found in both 10-K annual reports and 10-Q quarterly reports, this section requires companies to explain their financial performance, discuss trends affecting their business, and highlight uncertainties that could impact future results. Companies must update this section quarterly, making it an excellent place to find emerging concerns.

Risk Factors: The Risk Factors section of 10-K annual reports provides companies’ most comprehensive assessment of threats to their business.

What To Look For

You’ll want to look for shifts in language between reporting periods and between the company’s PR and its reports. For example, while the topline quotes from executives in an accompanying press release were the usual hyper-positive pablum about the company’s “position of strength,” etc., Levi Strauss & Co.’s (LEVI) July 2025 10-Q struck a more worrisome note about a global company whose business relies on international suppliers and sales, mentioning “tariffs” 22 times along with their potential affect on their business and the global economy.

While some risk factors remain boilerplate year after year, you’ll want to pay attention to new additions or significant expansions of previously mentioned risks. For example, many technology companies have quietly increased their AI-related risk disclosures in the mid-2020s, revealing worries about regulatory backlash, competitive threats, and wider effects on employment (and thus the macroeconomic picture) that rarely surface in their public enthusiasm for AI. Climate-related risk factors have evolved from generic mentions to specific discussions of supply chain vulnerabilities and the impacts of extreme weather.

The Bottom Line

SEC documents provide an unfiltered view of corporate America’s genuine concerns. Learning to read these filings effectively creates an early warning system for major economic trends.

While others wait for mainstream news coverage, informed readers can spot emerging issues by watching what companies are legally required to tell investors—free of elaborate corporate spin and political messaging.