EQS-News: Investors Overwhelmingly Favor Quarterly Earnings Reporting Vs. Semi-Annually, Survey Finds

Issuers Receptive to Less Frequent Reporting, Respondents Suggest

LOS ANGELES, CA - June 23, 2026 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Seventy-seven percent of investors say companies should continue reporting quarterly results, according to a survey conducted by PondelWilkinson, an investor relations and strategic public relations consultancy. By contrast, 18% of investors believe public companies should report results semi-annually, while 5% support semi-annual reporting supplemented by select 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 rather than four times.

A smaller group of public company management respondents was more divided on the proposal, with a slight majority expressing support for either less frequent reporting or reporting only key metrics in alternating quarters.

“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.”

Click here or visit https://youtu.be/NRuRilrigEo to view Roger Pondel's video commentary on the survey findings.

In addition to structured survey questions, participants were asked to provide commentary on the potential benefits, drawbacks and alternative reporting frameworks. Feedback centered around three core themes:

Investors Strongly Favor Transparency and Frequent Disclosure

Investors emphasized the importance of timely financial information for valuation and market efficiency, expressing concern that reduced reporting frequency could increase uncertainty, risk and volatility.

• “Efficient markets require more information, not less.”
• “Six months is an eternity in business these days and is too long to be dealing with stale financials.”
• “Less information ⇒ more risk. More risk ⇒ lower valuation.”

Issuers Seek Relief from Reporting Burdens

Company executives, particularly at smaller issuers, highlighted the operational and cost burden of quarterly reporting.

• “Quarterly encourages short-sighted decisions to ensure quarters look good.”
• “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.”
• "Earnings releases should be quarterly, but full 10-Q's and disclosures should be semiannually."

Support for a Hybrid or Compromise Approach

Some investor respondents supported middle-ground solutions that balance transparency with flexibility.

• "If it were semi-annual, I think at least revenue should be reported quarterly.”
• “Why twice or quarterly? Three times a year is a good compromise.”
• "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

About the survey

PondelWilkinson conducted its online survey May - June 2026. Investor respondents included institutional investors, buy-side analysts, sell-side analysts, wealth managers, family office investors, individual investors and investment bankers. Among investor respondents, institutional investors comprised the largest share of participants, followed by individual investors and sell-side analysts. Public company respondents included comments from chief executive officers and chief financial officers.

About PondelWilkinson

Trusted advisors in investor relations and strategic public relations for more than 50 years, PondelWilkinson helps established and emerging publicly traded, pre-public and private companies navigate Wall Street and Main Street with narratives that inform, inspire and influence. The firm has offices in New York, Connecticut, and Los Angeles, serving companies in multiple sectors worldwide. More information on PondelWilkinson can be found by visiting https://www.pondel.com/ or following the company on LinkedIn and X.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Michael Wichman PondelWilkinson mwichman@pondel.com 917-526-0855 www.pondel.com

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