The End of Quarterly Reporting? What the SEC Proposal Means

For 55 years, every public company in the United States has filed quarterly financial reports with the SEC. That requirement is now on the table. The SEC sent a proposal to the White House on March 30 that would make quarterly 10-Q filings optional, replacing them with a new semiannual form called the 10-SAR. If approved, companies could choose to report twice a year instead of four times.

This article covers what the proposal actually changes, who supports and opposes it, how it played out when the UK tried the same thing, and what it means for private companies that benchmark their reporting cadence against public markets.

What the SEC is proposing

The proposal targets Rules 13a-13 and 15d-13 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which currently require domestic public companies to file Form 10-Q every quarter. Under the new rule, companies would have the option to file a new Form 10-SAR on a semiannual basis instead. Quarterly reporting wouldn't be banned, just no longer mandatory. Companies that prefer to keep filing quarterly could continue doing so.

Two things stay the same regardless. Annual 10-K filings remain required, and Form 8-K obligations for material events don't change. If something significant happens between reporting periods, companies still have to disclose it in real time. The Long-Term Stock Exchange, which filed the formal petition that kicked off this rulemaking, specifically requested that 8-K requirements be preserved.

How this got here

The idea isn't new. President Trump first floated ending quarterly reporting during his first term in August 2018, arguing it would "save money and allow managers to focus on properly running their companies." The SEC issued a request for comment at the time but never moved forward with a formal rule.

The push resumed in September 2025 when Trump renewed the call and SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced the agency would fast-track a rulemaking proposal. By February 2026, the Division of Corporation Finance confirmed that staff was focused on creating a semiannual reporting option. The proposal reached the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 30, which typically takes 45 to 90 days to review before the SEC can vote to release it for public comment.

The case for semiannual reporting

Supporters argue that mandatory quarterly reporting creates a culture of short-termism that hurts long-term business performance. Two separate surveys, one in 2005 and another in 2016, found that roughly half of executives would delay new projects and investments to hit quarterly targets, even knowing it would sacrifice long-term value. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has warned that the quarterly cycle drives "short-termist behavior" that sacrifices long-term research and investment.

The compliance cost argument carries weight too. The total burden of quarterly reporting across all public companies runs approximately $2.7 billion annually, and earnings preparation alone consumes at least two months of finance team time each year. For smaller public companies, those costs are disproportionately heavy relative to revenue. The number of publicly traded U.S. companies has dropped to roughly 3,657, down nearly 50% from the 1997 peak, and compliance costs are frequently cited as one reason companies stay private longer.

The case against it

Critics counter that less frequent reporting doesn't actually fix short-termism, and that it creates new problems. The CFA Institute published research arguing that reporting frequency isn't the real driver of short-term thinking. Executive compensation design, board pressure, and analyst expectations all exert far greater influence on management behavior than how often a company files financial statements.

The practical concerns go deeper than philosophy. Academic research on semiannual reporters shows they become three times more sensitive to peer earnings news, with investors overweighting competitor signals when direct data is scarce. Insider trading windows become unmanageably long with six-month gaps between filings. Debt covenants typically mandate quarterly financials regardless of what the SEC requires, so lenders won't accept less data even if regulators do. And retail investors face an information vacuum relative to institutional investors that have access to private data sources, alternative data, and direct management relationships.

What happened when the UK tried this

The UK offers the closest comparison. British regulators required quarterly reporting from 2007 to 2014, then removed the mandate and returned to a semiannual standard. The results were mixed at best for supporters of less frequent reporting.

Fewer than 10% of UK firms actually stopped filing quarterly after the mandate was lifted. Most large companies continued voluntarily because investors demanded the data. Research studying the 2007-2014 period found no statistically significant change in investment levels when quarterly reporting was introduced or when it was removed. Companies didn't increase capital expenditure or R&D spending when they switched to semiannual, which undercuts the core argument that quarterly reporting suppresses long-term investment.

What this means for private companies

Private companies have no SEC reporting requirements, so this proposal doesn't directly change anything for them. But the indirect effects could be significant for finance teams that use public company cadences as their benchmark.

PE-backed portfolio companies typically report to investors quarterly as standard practice, and that rhythm won't change just because the SEC relaxes rules for public companies. The same is true for venture-backed startups reporting to their boards. Debt documentation will continue requiring quarterly data, and most sophisticated investors expect it regardless of regulatory minimums. If anything, private companies that maintain quarterly discipline while public peers shift to semiannual reporting could find themselves with a transparency advantage when raising capital or negotiating with lenders.

The proposal is also partly designed to make going public more attractive by reducing the compliance burden. For companies considering an IPO, a semiannual reporting regime could lower the operational bar for joining public markets, which is worth watching as the timeline develops.

What happens next

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs typically takes 45 to 90 days to review proposals of this scope. After that, the SEC would vote to release the rule for public comment, which requires a minimum 60-day comment period. Given that timeline, the earliest a final rule could take effect is late 2026 or early 2027, and that assumes no major revisions or delays.

Finance teams at both public and private companies should be tracking this for two reasons. First, the comment period is an opportunity to weigh in on how the rule gets shaped. Second, even if your company wouldn't change its reporting cadence, your competitors, benchmarks, and data sources might. The quality and frequency of comparable financial data could shift across your entire industry if a meaningful number of public companies opt into semiannual reporting.

Frequently asked questions about the SEC reporting proposal

Would quarterly reporting be banned?

Quarterly reporting would not be banned under this proposal. The SEC is creating an option, not a mandate. Companies that prefer to continue filing 10-Qs every quarter could do so. The change simply removes the requirement, giving companies the choice to file a new semiannual Form 10-SAR instead.

Do private companies have to change anything?

Private companies have no SEC reporting obligations, so the proposal has no direct regulatory impact. Indirectly, PE firms, lenders, and board members may revisit their expectations around reporting frequency if public market norms shift, but quarterly reporting will likely remain the standard for most private companies with institutional investors.

When would the new rule take effect?

The proposal is currently under White House review, which typically takes 45 to 90 days. After that comes a public comment period of at least 60 days, followed by a final SEC vote. The earliest realistic implementation date is late 2026 or early 2027.

What stays the same under the proposal?

Annual 10-K filings and real-time 8-K disclosures for material events remain mandatory regardless of whether a company opts into semiannual reporting. The proposal only affects the quarterly 10-Q requirement.