President Donald Trump wants Wall Street to think less like a sprinter and more like a marathon runner.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that it’s time for the United States to “do away” with the quarterly earnings report. Instead, he suggested companies should be required to report results only twice a year.
“Subject to SEC approval, companies and corporations should no longer be forced to ‘Report’ on a quarterly basis (Quarterly Reporting!), but rather to report on a ‘Six (6) Month Basis,’” Trump wrote. “This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies. Did you ever hear the statement that, ‘China has a 50 to 100 year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis??? Not good!!!”
The Securities and Exchange Commission has required publicly traded companies to file financial results every three months since 1970, according to the Associated Press. Trump had floated a similar idea during his first term, directing the SEC to study the issue, but no change was made.
Supporters of the shift argue that quarterly reporting is expensive, burdensome, and pushes executives to obsess over hitting short-term targets instead of investing for the long haul. The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), a marketplace that encourages companies to prioritise sustainability over quick profits, announced earlier this month that it plans to petition the SEC for semi-annual reporting rules.
“This petition takes a critical step toward enabling genuinely long-term companies to focus on sustainable growth rather than quarterly noise,” said LTSE CEO Maliz Beams.
But not everyone is on board. Opponents say frequent updates are vital for investors who need transparency about risks and performance.
David S. Koo, an assistant professor of accounting at George Mason University’s Donald G. Costello College of Business, noted in a 2024 report that quarterly filings originally came about because investors were left in the dark when companies hid shrinking profits during downturns.
“The purpose of quarterly reporting was to reduce that information asymmetry,” Koo wrote.
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With inputs from Associated Press
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