President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his call for U.S. companies to move away from quarterly earnings reports, building upon an idea he floated during his first term.
Since 1970, the nearly 3,700 publicly traded companies in the U.S. — including mortgage and real estate companies — have been required to disclose their financial results every three months.
“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 posted on social media platform Truth Social on Monday morning.
“This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies,” 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!!!”
A spokesperson from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shared with HousingWire that “At President Trump’s request, Chairman Atkins and the SEC is prioritizing this proposal to further eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on companies.”
Trump‘s idea dovetails with one from stock-trading venue Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), which last week told The Wall Street Journal it plans to ask the SEC to make twice-a-year reporting optional. LTSE representatives said they left a recent meeting with regulators encouraged.
Trump asked regulators in 2018 to consider the regulatory changes, but the effort stalled after the SEC asked for public feedback. Other countries, like the European Union and the United Kingdom, have ended mandatory quarterly financial reporting and moved to half-year and annual reporting.
That same year, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that companies should move away from issuing quarterly earnings forecasts. They argued the practice discourages long-term investments while prompting firms to cut back on spending and hiring to hit short-term targets.