Publicly traded companies in the United States currently file their earnings reports every three months, or four times a year. Still, as an independent commission-led agency, the SEC cannot be forced by the president to implement any rule changes. Company executives have argued that quarterly reporting leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits, while investors typically favor more disclosure. Trump said he urged the SEC to consider the change after talking with various business leaders. Still, the report did not go as far as to suggest scrapping quarterly reporting obligations for companies.

Source: CBC News August 17, 2018 13:52 UTC