President Donald Trump proposed on Monday that companies consider switching from quarterly to semiannual earnings reports.
Trump mentioned on Truth Social that this proposal is “subject to SEC approval” and would “save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies.”
He questioned, “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!!!’”
During his first term, Trump had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to study the issue but no recommendations came of the matter.
The effectiveness of quarterly reports has been debated previously. In a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase suggested eliminating quarterly guidance, though they did not oppose the earnings reports themselves.
“In our experience, quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth, and sustainability,” the pair commented.
Currently, companies are obliged to report earnings quarterly, but providing forecasts is not mandatory. Changes could be implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission or via Congress.
Logistically, the move would not require support from Congress but rather just a majority vote on the SEC, where Republicans currently hold a 3-1 voting majority, with one open seat. The process likely would take six to 12 months, said Sarah Bianchi, chief strategist of international political affairs and public policy at Evercore ISI.
“ministrations have to varying degrees given policy steers to the SEC, and with Trump’s directivethis is now something that has to be taken seriously as a possibility,” Bianchi, a former U.S. deputy trade representative, said in a note. “However, the SEC has also historically been able to operate with some measure of independence.”
SEC Chair Paul Atkins has not spoken on the issue.
“If the effort at the SEC to reconsider quarterly reporting gains steam, it could also prompt conversations around when and how companies issue guidance and communicate with investors that would have important ramifications for public markets,” Bianchi added.
Supporters of the current system say it provides investors with timely opportunity as well as transparency about public companies.
“When you weigh this out and put it on a whiteboard, the pros of quarterly reporting outweigh the cons,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management. “Having to wait six months for official results, I just think would cause more difficulties than it would add benefits.”
While executives have come under some criticism for reporting misleading earnings, the use of generally accepted accounting principles — GAAP — has helped provide guardrails that ensure standardization. For that reason, U.S. reporting is considered among the most transparent and reliable in the world.
Despite Trump’s comments about China, companies there have reporting requirements that are similar to the U.S. if not more stringent. Chinese companies must file quarterly earnings reports as well as semiannual and annual reports.
Companies listed on the Hong Kong exchange, however, only report every six months.
Trump’s proposal would be more in line with practices in the U.K. and European Union, where companies are required to file semiannually but can issue quarterly reports if they choose.
But Hogan said the comparison between U.S. and European companies isn’t valid.
“How many companies in the European markets have trillion-dollar market caps and are growing revenues at 60% a year or have gross margins that are north of 50%?” he said. “The investor is better suited to having more information than less or more frequent information.”
Earlier this year, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund proposed switching to semiannual reporting, reasoning that lengthening the time frame would allow companies to focus on the longer term. The Long-Term Stock Exchange trading platform also has supported less frequent reporting.
The White House declined further comment on Trump’s post. CNBC has reached out to the SEC for comment.
