The 10-Q is the quarterly report every public company files 40 days after quarter-end. It's dense, but three sections carry almost all the dilution signal: the cover page (share count), Note 10 (stockholders' equity), and Note 12 (subsequent events).
Cover page share count
The cover lists 'Common shares outstanding' as of the filing date. Compare this to the prior 10-Q. A 10% bump with no announced offering means an ATM, PIPE close, or warrant exercise happened mid-quarter.
Note 10 — Stockholders' equity
This footnote breaks down every share issuance in the quarter: ATM sales, warrant exercises, option exercises, convertible conversions, and stock-based compensation. Read the line items. 'Issuance of common stock pursuant to ATM program' with a dollar amount = the company tapped the shelf.
Also check the 'Stock options and warrants' table: outstanding, exercisable, and weighted-average exercise price. If the stock is trading above the weighted-average strike, dilution is mechanically happening as holders exercise.
Note 12 — Subsequent events
This is the early-warning system. Any financing, acquisition, or material agreement signed after quarter-end but before filing is disclosed here. A new $50M ATM agreement dated two days after quarter-end means the next 10-Q will show issuance you can't yet see in the share count.
The 10-Q scan routine
Open the filing. Ctrl+F: 'outstanding', 'ATM', 'warrant', 'subsequent event'. Read those four sections. Total time: under 5 minutes. That's the edge.