WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump is reviving his call to end quarterly earnings reports, saying U.S. companies should only be required to disclose results every six months instead of every three.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that shifting to semi-annual reporting would cut costs and allow executives to "focus on properly running their companies" rather than chasing short-term targets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has required quarterly reports since 1970, a rule Trump previously asked the agency to reconsider during his first term. No changes were made at the time.

Supporters of the move say quarterly reporting is expensive, discourages firms from going public, and pushes leaders to prioritize immediate profits over long-term growth. The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE), which advocates for companies to focus on sustainability, recently said it would petition the SEC to mandate semi-annual reporting, while still allowing firms to file quarterly updates voluntarily. "This petition takes a critical step toward enabling genuinely long-term companies to focus on sustainable growth rather than quarterly noise," LTSE CEO Maliz Beams said.

Opponents, however, stress that quarterly earnings give investors timely insights into a company's financial health and potential risks. They argue that reducing disclosure would hurt transparency and accountability.

A 2024 study by David S. Koo, an accounting professor at George Mason University, noted that quarterly reporting was introduced after World War II to prevent firms from hiding profit declines during downturns. "The purpose of quarterly reporting was to reduce that information asymmetry," Koo said.