Share structure is a very important metric when evaluating whether or not to invest in a stock. You touched on the three different share counts that or a part of the overall share structure.
A/S--AUTHORIZED SHARES (Maximum amount of shares a company can issue)
O/S--OUTSTANDING SHARES (Combination of restricted/unrestricted shares)
FLOAT--Shares available in the free market to be purchased and sold.
By understanding a company's share structure, and history regarding corporate actions with respect to how the company handles its' share structure, are essential when making an investment decision. If a company has a history of maxing out their share structure, only to perform a reverse split, you know the old saying, " A leopard will never change its' spots." A company with a history of that kind of behavior is not worth the risk. Try to find companies that have a good history of non-dilution and non-A/S raises and/or no reverse splits. There are certain times a reverse split is necessary, to uplist to a higher exchange etc... But companies that reverse split, and keep the A/S the same as before the split, will likely rinse and repeat. There are some companies on the OTC that their primary business is issuing shares. Stay away from these types of companies.
As to 8K and 10Q's. For novice investors and many seasoned as well, these documents are tedious to read and difficult to absorb. Depending upon where the equity trades, like Nasdaq and such, the essential parts of those reports would be profitability, business forecast, risks and other discussed ventures. In the OTC, many do not have revenues, so that is eliminated. Many of the OTC reports are devoid of business forecasts, but as it relates to OTC stocks, you want to focus on share structure and debt. If a company has $10,000,000.00 in debt and has just about maxed out their authorized shares, you can bet what is going to happen.
There is, as with everything, much more about share structure, but I wanted to somewhat answer your question.
Hope that helps.
SPORTYNORTY
