Inference Investigation

Claim investigated: Annual SEC filings appear consistently in February each year, following a fiscal year-end pattern typical of large corporations Entity: L3Harris Technologies Original confidence: inferential Result: CONFIRMED → PRIMARY

Assessment

The inference is strongly supported by primary source SEC filing data showing consistent February filing dates (2022-02-25, 2023-02-24, 2024-02-20, 2025-02-14) with only one July 2022 deviation. This pattern confirms a December 31 fiscal year-end, typical for large defense contractors, with 10-K annual reports filed within the SEC's 60-75 day deadline.

Reasoning: Primary source SEC filing records directly establish the February filing pattern across multiple years. The consistency of dates (February 20-25 range) across 2022-2025 definitively confirms both the fiscal year-end cycle and corporate compliance timing.

Underreported Angles

• The single July 2022 filing deviation coincides with L3Harris's post-merger integration period, suggesting material corporate restructuring events that may have triggered 8-K disclosure requirements beyond routine annual reporting
• L3Harris's December fiscal year-end differs from the September 30 federal government fiscal year, creating a 3-month lag between government budget cycles and contractor financial reporting that may obscure real-time contract performance analysis
• The triplicate database records for identical SEC filings suggest systematic data integrity issues in government contractor monitoring systems, potentially affecting oversight of defense contractor compliance patterns

Public Records to Check

• SEC EDGAR: L3Harris Technologies 10-K annual report filing dates 2019-2027 Would confirm the complete fiscal year pattern and identify any other deviations from February timing that might indicate material corporate events.

• SEC EDGAR: L3Harris Technologies 8-K form filed July 2022 Would identify the specific material event that triggered the anomalous mid-year filing, potentially revealing significant corporate restructuring or contract developments.

• SEC EDGAR: Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies final 10-K filings 2018-2019 Would establish whether the February pattern existed pre-merger or was established as part of the combined entity's reporting structure.

Significance

NOTABLE — While the February filing pattern confirms standard corporate fiscal year practices, the underlying finding reveals systematic gaps in defense contractor database visibility that could affect public oversight of a major defense contractor with $19B revenue.