President Donald Trump renewed his call on Monday for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to eliminate mandatory quarterly earnings reports for companies, suggesting a switch to six-month reporting instead.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said such a change “will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,” News.Az reports, citing Reuters
He added:
"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!!!'"
Currently, U.S. corporations are required to report financial results every 90 days. Moving to half-yearly reporting would align the U.S. with practices in the U.K. and several EU countries.
Supporters argue that less frequent reporting could help companies focus on long-term goals, while critics warn it could reduce transparency and increase market volatility.
Trump previously raised the idea during his first term, asking the SEC to consider cutting back reporting requirements. The SEC has not yet commented on the latest proposal.
Analysts note that quarterly reporting contributes to the premium valuation of U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 trades at 24.3 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, compared with 15.28 times for Europe’s STOXX 600 index. The U.S. switched from semiannual to quarterly reporting in 1970.
