Recently, I’ve found that many people are still a bit confused about the timing of the US stock earnings season. In fact, the rules for earnings report releases between the Taiwan stock market and the US stock market are quite different, and it’s worth studying them carefully.

First, let’s talk about the Taiwan stock market. The rules here are relatively straightforward and strict. The Taiwan Stock Exchange sets very rigid deadlines for listed companies to release their financial reports, with basically no room for flexibility. Annual reports must be announced before March 31 (financial holding companies are allowed until April 30). For very large companies such as TSMC and MediaTek, the deadline is even earlier—they need to finish by March 15. As for quarterly reports, Q1 is due by May 15, Q2 by August 14, and Q3 by November 14. In addition, the Taiwan stock market has a globally rare regulation: by the 10th of every month, companies must announce the previous month’s revenue. Because this figure is highly time-sensitive, it is often regarded as a leading indicator for quarterly reports.

The earnings season timing for US stocks is more complicated. The filing deadline for US annual reports (10-K) depends on the company’s size and fiscal year-end date. Large accelerated filers must file within 60 days after the fiscal year ends; mid-sized companies have 75 days; and small companies get 90 days. For 2026, large companies are expected to complete filings by about March 2. Quarterly reports (10-Q) have even tighter deadlines: large companies have only 40 days, with the latest around May 11.

But here’s the key point to understand: US companies usually do not wait until the SEC filing deadline to release their earnings reports. They hold earnings calls in advance. The US earnings season generally concentrates from the late part of January to the end of February (the annual-report period). For quarterly reports, they typically begin about 15 days after the quarter ends. For example, in Q1 2026, TSMC’s ADR is expected to hold an earnings call on April 16, Tesla around April 20, and tech stocks’ “super earnings week” is roughly from late April to early May—major players like Apple and Amazon are all bunched together.

If you want to track these earnings dates, the most convenient option for Taiwan stock investors is to use the public Market Observation Post System (MOPS). This is the official platform, with the most complete and authoritative data. For US stocks, you can directly check the SEC’s EDGAR database, or use third-party platforms such as Yahoo Finance, the Nasdaq official website, and Investing.com, which also compile earnings calendars.

To be honest, knowing the timing of the US earnings season has a pretty big impact on short-term trading, because stock prices typically experience fairly sharp volatility before and after earnings are released. Many people end up missing opportunities—or getting stuck—simply because they don’t know when to pay attention to which companies. It’s recommended that everyone mark the earnings times of key companies on your calendar, so you won’t be caught off guard by the market.