The topic of eliminating quarterly reporting had actually resurfaced again earlier this month, when the Long-Term Stock Exchange announced plans to petition the SEC to allow public companies to report earnings semi-annually instead of quarterly. The announcement notes:

The petition potentially affects thousands of publicly traded companies currently bound by quarterly reporting requirements. While the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provided the legal framework for periodic reporting, the SEC initially required only semi-annual reports starting in 1955 before moving to quarterly reporting in 1970.

‍LTSE Founder and best-selling author Eric Ries said, “This has been a longtime dream of the business community and represents the culmination of efforts by many long-term investors, companies, and policymakers over decades. The time has come to create a capital markets system that rewards patient capital and long-term thinking.”

‍The proposal addresses longstanding concerns about quarterly reporting’s impact on corporate decision-making. Business and political leaders, including the Trump administration (in 2018) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have suggested that companies should report every six months instead of quarterly. Extensive academic research has documented the negative effects of quarterly reporting pressure on long-term value creation.

‍For long-term investors, the change could lead to more strategic company insights while reducing short-term volatility and better alignment of corporate management to investor interests. Under the proposed guidelines, all companies would retain the option to release quarterly earnings but would not be required to do so.

‍This focus on long-term value creation directly addresses systemic market pressures that currently favor short-term thinking.

‍“As CEOs, we absolutely have to deliver on short-term metrics; both our customers and investors depend on it,” said Maliz Beams, CEO of LTSE. “But the key is including short-term targets as deliberate mile markers on the path to long-term value creation. This petition takes a critical step toward enabling genuinely long-term companies to focus on sustainable growth rather than quarterly noise.”

As of this morning, no petition from the Long-Term Stock Exchange appeared on the SEC’s website. It may no longer be necessary at this point, because I suspect that Truth Social posts are more effective at motivating SEC action than rulemaking petitions.

– Dave Lynn