MD&A is where a company must explain why revenue moved, not just that it did. Regulators expect discussion of known trends and uncertainties reasonably likely to affect future results, which makes it the closest thing to written guidance in a filing.
Compare the same section across three years. Language that quietly changes, a trend that stops being mentioned, or a new uncertainty added to the liquidity discussion are all signals that no number reveals.
Example: Northwind's MD&A adds a paragraph on distributor inventory levels that did not appear the prior year, three months before the company guides the next quarter below consensus.
Related: form-10-k, guidance, risk-factors, footnotes, form-10-q