“Ok grandpa, let’s get you back to bed…” - Me to President Trump after single-handedly threatening my ability to YOLO my mortgage into Nvidia earnings 4x a year…

So it appears Donnie Politics just dropped one helluva banger on Truth Social… publicly traded companies might only have to report earnings twice a year instead of every three months. Translation: say goodbye to quarterly hand-wringing and hello to semi-annual “surprise, we’re broke.”

(Source: Giphy) 

Now if you are someone like me, where earnings season is like friggin’ Christmas 4x a year… this is nightmare fuel. Especially as the SEC (aka the Shortseller Enrichment Commission) confirmed it’s “actively prioritizing” the proposal. However, the only thing we have going for us… is that this may be typical Washington at its finest… where one agency says “we’ll study this thing until everyone forgets about it.” (Fingers Crossed).

(Source: CNBC) 

With that said, Republicans currently hold a 3–1 majority on the SEC, with one empty seat. Meaning this one could actually go through and if it does, well, it’ll be a shake up. And yet, Trump’s vision on the whole thing is this: quarterly reports are a distraction, they cost too much money, and they make management chase short-term gains instead of long-term strategy. His exact words: “China has a 50 to 100 year view on companies… we run ours quarter by quarter. Not good!!!”

Of course, if this sounds eerily similar to words that have come out of Trump’s mouth before… it’s because it is. This isn’t the first time he’s floated the idea around. Back in 2018, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon penned an op-ed arguing that short-term earnings guidance leads to bad decisions. Even Norway’s sovereign wealth fund recently said “yeah, let’s chill with the quarterly hustle.” The problem tho, is that transparency junkies are already foaming at the mouth. Critics argue semi-annual reporting would mean less information, more volatility, and more chances for execs to hide sh*t until it’s too late. Art Hogan of B. Riley even said, “having to wait six months for official results would cause more difficulties than benefits.” (Translation: fewer catalysts = fewer trading fees.)

(Source: Giphy) 

Meanwhile, Europe and the UK already roll this way…mandatory semiannual reporting, optional quarterlies. Except Europe also doesn’t have trillion-dollar companies with 60% revenue growth and 50% margins, so maybe don’t copy their homework too closely LOL. 

Naturally, the fallout of this would be obvious. If this actually happens, Wall Street degenerates lose two of their four annual earnings-casino nights. Instead of betting on EPS beats and misses every 90 days, you’d only get two chances a year to gamble against Goldman’s models. Which sounds absolutely batsh*t terrible… but also means when the numbers drop, they’ll hit harder than whatever word salad Jerome Powell musters up this month. 

(Source: Giphy) 

For now though, the suggestion is still in the early stages. But Trump has made it clear this is what we wants…  and that is for CEOs to focus on building companies, and not handing out raffle tickets every quarter. But then again, investors want more data, not less. Meaning, while the SEC holds our fate in their hands… place your bets accordingly on this thing. Until next time, friends…

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.