Trump calls for ending quarterly reporting as data wars escalate
On Monday, President Donald Trump revived his long-running effort to end quarterly corporate reporting, saying on social media that U.S. companies “should no longer be forced” to report every three months and should instead file on a six-month schedule.
He noted the change would be “subject to SEC approval,” a reminder that the Securities and Exchange Commission would have to approve any change in the rule. Most publicly traded companies in the U.S. today file quarterly 10-Q reports and an annual 10-K under SEC rules in place since 1970 . By law, the SEC can’t just flip a switch to change that. It must adhere to a formal rule-making process that includes a public comment period, among other formal procedures.
Trump’s post went on to compare U.S. practices to China’s: “Did you ever hear the statement that, ‘China has a 50 to 100 year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis???’ Not good!!!”
That may be the stated reasoning at this stage, but it’s relevant that, in recent quarters, company earnings reports — from General Motors to Walmart — have highlighted the cost to American companies and consumers of Trump’s ongoing trade wars. Making such reports more infrequent could slow the flow of such information to investors and to the public.
Trump’s call also fits a broader pattern.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term, the SEC, led by Trump appointee Jay Clayton, formally sought public comment on whether and how to “reduce burdens ” associated with quarterly reporting and whether the current schedule encouraged short-term thinking. After receiving input, the agency did not move to change the reporting frequency.
Now the political and economic pictures have developed still further. Trump’s renewed call for reporting changes follows months of attacks on federal agencies, including the August firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissione r after a routine revision of jobs data and reports showing a slowdown in growth — signs that have alarmed economists and brought increased media and public attention to economic data streams.
Meanwhile, experts warn that thinning expert ranks at federal agencies and undermining public trust in the data they produce could increase already elevated economic uncertainty and, down the line, function to increase, rather than lower , borrowing costs for businesses and households alike.
Trump’s attacks on the BLS also come amid a larger backdrop of worsening economic conditions. The current data points to a further weakening in the job market and inflation running well above the Fed’s 2% target . A push to obscure such data would not improve the economy but simply make it harder to deal in facts.