This is honestly just a terrible development. Part of the unique value of the public markets is liquidity. Making it so companies are required to update their investors less frequent means we are moving towards opaque, confusion, and lack of data.
And there’s nothing “long term” about getting less frequent updates. One of the most long term focused companies ever is Costco, which releases KPIs *monthly*.
Removing the quarterly reporting period will just give investors less data to work with and make it so insiders can sell out of a stock long before the public is aware of the problems.
The idea that reporting numbers on a quarterly basis makes the company short-term focused is nonsense.
US companies are committing record levels of long-term capital investment. Companies like Costco, which report sales numbers on a *monthly* basis, are some of the most long-term focused companies in the world.
Meanwhile, the semi-annual reporting that is more common in Europe has not led to better long term performance or more investment in the business, and they continually lag their quarterly-reporting US counterparts.
What would change if this happens, is the market would be more opaque, less updated, and worse pricing for stocks. Companies could be struggling for 5 months before investors have any idea.
Transparency is a good thing. We should build technology to make quarterly reports easier and more efficient, not do away with them.
Best golfer in the world says no amount of professional success is anywhere as satisfying as having good family relationships.
He firmly puts golf below his family, and he’s still the best at golf. That’s a true inspiration.