President Donald Trump wants to do away with the quarterly earnings report.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said securities regulators should stop requiring companies to issue financial reports every three months and instead switch to a six-month reporting period. The Securities and Exchange Commission has required publicly traded companies to report on a quarterly basis since 1970.
“This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,” Trump wrote.
Trump asked the SEC to examine the three- versus six-month reporting requirement during his first term. No change was made.
Last week, the Long Term Stock Exchange said it planned to petition the SEC to do away with the quarterly requirement. The San Francisco-based exchange lists companies focused on long-term goals.
Supporters of the change say quarterly reporting is too costly and time-consuming and discourages companies from wanting to go public. They also say company executives focus too much on hitting quarterly earnings targets and not enough on long-term planning.
Those who favor quarterly earnings say the reports provide investors with valuable financial updates and make them aware of any new risks a company is facing.