The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Proposes Changing Listed Company Reporting Frequency to Semi-Annual Reports——The Wall Street Journal Reports

Investing.com — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a proposal to reduce the frequency of corporate disclosures from four times a year to just twice. According to The Wall Street Journal, the regulator may announce the plan as early as next month, allowing listed companies to opt out of quarterly reporting.

The proposal has gained increasing support from President Trump and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, who believe the current mandatory requirements are overly burdensome. Supporters argue that switching to a semi-annual reporting system could help reverse the shrinking trend of the U.S. public markets by reducing paperwork costs.

To prepare for the announcement, the regulator has been consulting with major stock exchanges to determine how listing rules might need to be adjusted. While this change would end a 50-year-old mandatory requirement, it is expected to make quarterly updates optional rather than completely eliminate them.

Last year, the long-standing stock exchanges petitioned the SEC to change disclosure frequency, giving this push significant momentum. Although Trump explored similar measures during his first term, the current effort marks a more formal step toward adopting a semi-annual reporting standard.

Any final rule change will still face at least a 30-day mandatory public comment period followed by an official commission vote. There is no guarantee the measure will pass, especially since many institutional investors rely heavily on frequent transparency to assess their holdings’ value.

Critics of the plan point to potential volatility, but supporters emphasize that markets in Europe and the UK have successfully relaxed similar reporting requirements. While many overseas companies still choose to report quarterly, the legal obligation to do so ended over a decade ago.

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