WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) planned to seek input on the reporting of public companies' quarterly earnings after President Donald Trump urged the agency to study the issue earlier this year.
The SEC said on Thursday that it would hold an open meeting next week and vote on whether to issue a request for comment on the "nature and content of quarterly reports and earnings releases" issued by public companies.
The move is intended to solicit feedback on how the quarterly reporting system is functioning and what improvements could be made, according to the wall Street Journal.
Trump tweeted in August that he heard from corporate executives that reporting every six months, rather than quarterly, would allow companies to have "greater flexibility" and "save money." He then asked the SEC to review a decades-old rule that requires public companies releasing earnings quarterly.
Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have voiced support for scaling back the frequency of earnings reports so as to promote a long-term focus among public companies and investors.
In an article published in June, billionaire investor Warren Buffett and JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon also urged companies to consider ending the practice of providing quarterly earnings guidance.
"In our experience, quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability," they argued, but declined to call for an end to quarterly reporting.
"Our views on quarterly earnings forecasts should not be misconstrued as opposition to quarterly and annual reporting," they said, adding transparency about financial and operating results is an essential aspect of U.S. public markets.
While SEC Chairman Jay Clayton doesn't expect quarterly reporting to change for most firms, he has expressed openness to possible changes for firms with revenue under 1 billion U.S. dollars, the Journal reported on Thursday.
Those companies may find quarterly reporting to be a compliance burden and have investors who don't want or need such frequent information, the report said.
