CIK
Also called Central Index Key, SEC CIK.
The SEC Central Index Key that identifies a filer in EDGAR. CompensationBase stores CIK on company records to attach the correct proxy and Company Facts.
What it is
A CIK (Central Index Key) is the SEC’s permanent numeric identifier for a filer. Apple’s CIK is not AAPL; tickers change, CIKs generally do not. Company records on CompensationBase store CIK so EDGAR submissions and Company Facts attach to the correct legal entity.
Subsidiaries, funds, and insiders can have their own CIKs. Executive people are not keyed by CIK on this site; companies are.
Why companies use it
The SEC cannot rely on names or tickers: both collide and change. CIK is the join key for all of a registrant’s filings.
CompensationBase uses it for the same reason: to avoid attaching a proxy to the wrong company after a ticker reuse or rename.
Pros
- Stable across ticker changes.
- Required on EDGAR headers.
- Joins pay tables to Company Facts (revenue, assets) for the same registrant.
Cons
- Not human-friendly; users search tickers.
- Corporate reorganizations can still produce successor CIKs.
- A CIK identifies the filer, not each NEO.
Examples
Ticker change
A company rebrands and changes its ticker. CIK stays the same, so historical DEF 14As and new ones remain one issuer in the catalog.
Company Facts join
Revenue shown for scale is pulled with the same CIK used to find the proxy. That is the intended join, not a match on similar legal names.
On CompensationBase
Company records store CIK so the correct EDGAR submissions and Company Facts attach to the ticker and legal name.
Related terms
- Accession number
The SEC’s unique ID for a filing. CompensationBase shows it on company and executive source panels so each table can be traced to a document.
- SEC Company Facts
Structured 10-K financials CompensationBase uses for revenue and assets. These figures are for company scale, not a pay-for-performance ratio.
- DEF 14A
The definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC before a shareholder meeting. It is CompensationBase’s primary source for the Summary Compensation Table.