Recently, a friend asked me how to quickly get a handle on the pace of earnings season. The truth is, it all comes down to figuring out two things: the announcement schedule for annual reports and the quarterly-report filing deadlines. Today, I’ll share some practical experiences I’ve put together with you.

First, let’s talk about Taiwan stocks. Taiwan’s financial reporting requirements are much stricter than those in the U.S. Listed companies must complete their disclosures within the statutory time frame, with no room for flexibility. The annual report announcement schedule for 2026 is basically like this: most listed and OTC companies must announce audited financial statements by March 31. Financial holding companies are delayed until April 30 because their consolidated reporting is more complicated. For ultra-large companies such as TSMC and MediaTek, starting in 2026 they are required to file even earlier, by March 15.

For quarterly reports, the Q1 quarterly report filing deadline is May 15, Q2 is August 14, and Q3 is November 14. But these are only statutory deadlines. In practice, large companies hold investor conferences (earnings briefings) well before the deadline. My own habit is to pay attention to the timing of the investor conferences rather than the filing deadlines, because stock-price volatility often starts right when the investor conference begins.

The rule that companies must announce last month’s revenue before the 10th of each month is also important. These figures come out quickly, and many investors use them as leading indicators ahead of the quarterly reports.

When it comes to checking financial-report data for Taiwan stocks, the most convenient option is the Public Information Observation Station (MOPS). This is the official platform of the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and all listed companies’ financial information must be made public here. Many brokerage apps also have organized investor-conference calendars, so checking via the app is faster.

The logic for U.S. stocks is somewhat different. In the U.S., there is no single unified deadline; instead, the timing is calculated based on the company’s size and its fiscal year-end date. Large companies with a public float greater than 700 million USD must file their annual report (10-K) within 60 days after the end of the year. Medium-sized companies have 75 days, and smaller companies have 90 days. So for the same fiscal year that ends in 2025, large companies might have to file as early as early March, while smaller companies may have to wait until the end of March.

Quarterly reports (10-Q) follow a similar rule: large companies must submit within 40 days after the quarter ends, and small companies within 45 days. But in reality, U.S. companies usually do not wait until the final deadline to publish. Most issue press releases and hold investor conferences in advance. At the start of each earnings quarter, bank stocks typically lead, followed by the tech sector’s “super earnings week.” During this period, stock prices tend to be more volatile.

To find the original data for U.S. earnings reports, go to the SEC’s EDGAR database. By entering the stock ticker symbol or the company name, you can find the complete 10-K and 10-Q filings. If you want to review the reporting schedules for multiple companies at once, platforms such as Yahoo Finance and the Nasdaq official website also provide organized earnings calendars, which are convenient.

To be honest, mastering the process of knowing the announcement times for annual reports and the quarterly-report deadlines is genuinely very helpful for making investment decisions. Earnings season brings large stock-price swings, but if you know the timing of the investor conferences in advance, you can plan your entry and exit strategies more effectively. Whether in Taiwan or the U.S., financial reports are the first-hand information for assessing a company’s fundamentals, and they often influence short-term performance as well as long-term trends—so it’s worth spending more time studying them.