A survey conducted by PondelWilkinson, an investor relations and strategic public relations consultancy, found that 77% of investors believe companies should continue reporting quarterly results, while only 18% support semi-annual reporting and 5% favor semi-annual reporting supplemented by key metrics in non-reporting quarters. The online survey comes as the SEC seeks public comment by July 6, 2026, on its proposed semi-annual reporting rule, which would allow public companies to report results twice a year instead of four times.
Among public company management respondents, a slight majority expressed support for either less frequent reporting or reporting only key metrics in alternating quarters, highlighting a divide between investors and issuers. “Our survey results highlight investors’ strong demand for timely, transparent information,” said Roger Pondel, CEO at PondelWilkinson. “At the same time, issuers pointed to reduced regulatory burdens and lower compliance costs as key reasons why shifting to semi-annual reporting could be beneficial.” PondelWilkinson released a video commentary on the survey findings, available at https://youtu.be/NRuRilrigEo.
Investor feedback emphasized the importance of timely financial information for valuation and market efficiency. Respondents expressed concerns that reduced reporting frequency could increase uncertainty, risk, and volatility. One investor noted, “Efficient markets require more information, not less.” Another stated, “Six months is an eternity in business these days and is too long to be dealing with stale financials.” A third warned, “Less information ⇒ more risk. More risk ⇒ lower valuation.”
Company executives, particularly at smaller issuers, highlighted the operational and cost burdens of quarterly reporting. One executive commented, “Quarterly encourages short-sighted decisions to ensure quarters look good.” Another noted, “As long as corporations have to report quarterly, they will want to show profit each quarter, which will reduce incentive to invest in R&D.” A third suggested, “Earnings releases should be quarterly, but full 10-Qs and disclosures should be semiannually.”
Some investor respondents supported middle-ground solutions. One proposed, “If it were semi-annual, I think at least revenue should be reported quarterly.” Another suggested, “Why twice or quarterly? Three times a year is a good compromise.” A third noted, “For some industries, semi-annual reporting would be adequate; industries containing more volatile metrics should report quarterly.”
The SEC officially proposed the amendment on May 5, 2026, marking the first time in 55 years that firms may have the flexibility to switch from Form 10-Q reporting. Under the proposed framework, public companies that want to report on a half-year cadence would file their results on a new Form 10-S, while annual filings on Form 10-K would remain unchanged. The survey was conducted online by PondelWilkinson from May to June 2026, with respondents including institutional investors, buy-side analysts, sell-side analysts, wealth managers, family office investors, individual investors, and investment bankers. Public company respondents included CEOs and CFOs.
