Trump Proposes Letting U.S. Companies Report Earnings Every Six Months, Seeks SEC Approval

President Donald Trump on Monday again called for allowing public companies to report financial results every six months instead of quarterly, saying the change would save companies money and let executives concentrate on long-term management. The proposal would require approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to become policy.

"This will save money, and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies," Trump wrote on Truth Social, reprising a push he advanced during his first term. The current SEC rule requires corporations to file financial statements every 90 days.

The idea — moving the United States from quarterly to semiannual reporting — would mark a major shift in disclosure requirements and align the U.S. with the reporting cadence used in the United Kingdom and several European Union countries. Critics warn the change could reduce transparency, increase market volatility and make U.S. equities less attractive to some investors, while supporters say it could curb short-termism.

Some prominent business leaders have previously argued against the pressure to meet quarterly targets. In 2018, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett wrote that short-termism was harming the U.S. economy. In recent market commentary, portfolio managers also expressed mixed views. "From the perspective of better capital allocation by public companies, the focus on meeting quarterly earnings projections can lead to decisions based on short-term implications, when we would prefer management keep their eye on the long-term ball," said Burns McKinney, managing director and portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group in Dallas. Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management in Chicago, said he saw "merit" in the proposal.

Opponents argue less frequent reporting would leave investors and analysts with less timely information about company performance. That, they say, could raise uncertainty and exacerbate swings in stock prices. Some investors contend that one reason U.S. equities command a premium relative to other markets is their comparatively higher frequency of and rigor in financial disclosure.

Data compiled by LSEG show the benchmark S&P 500 index was trading at about 24.3 times estimated earnings over the next 12 months, compared with roughly 15.28 times for Europe’s STOXX 600, a gap some analysts attribute in part to differences in disclosure and governance standards.

U.S. companies did not always report quarterly. The SEC moved the market from semiannual to quarterly reporting with a mandate in 1970. Any reversal of that rule would require regulatory action by the SEC, including formal rulemaking and stakeholder comment.

The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.

The debate over reporting frequency touches on broader questions about corporate governance, investor protection and market structure. Proponents say fewer filings would reduce compliance costs and free management time for strategic planning and investment. Critics point to the potential erosion of continuous disclosure that many investors rely on for timely assessments of risk and valuation.

Any movement toward semiannual reporting would likely trigger extensive comment from investment firms, corporate issuers and market regulators, and could affect how analysts model corporate earnings and how traders price risk. Past efforts to change the cadence of reporting have faced pushback and did not gain traction; Trump's 2018 suggestion to the SEC similarly failed to prompt a rule change.

Regulatory timelines and political dynamics will shape whether the idea advances. For now, quarterly reporting remains the law, and any modification would require a formal SEC rulemaking process and an opportunity for public comment.