The SEC has proposed transferring to semiannual earnings reporting.
On Monday, we mentioned why eliminating quarterly earnings as a fundamental premise was a nasty thought: it reduces transparency, will increase volatility, and is prone to create a surge in insider buying and selling, all whereas carrying out little to maneuver us away from the short-termism surrounding quarterly earnings at present.
Earlier than we try this, let’s take into account the most effective practices of a number of the largest and/or smartest corporations in America. They’ve thought-about this problem on their very own, taken a wide range of approaches concerning earnings, and have been applauded by their shareholders for a way they conduct their enterprise.
Let’s take into account some finest practices – even with out being required to take action by the SEC.
Berkshire Hathaway: doesn’t do a quarterly name in any respect. The Q1 outcomes traditionally got here out alongside an 8-Ok and a fast slide on the assembly. Buffett has used the annual assembly Q&A so as to add no matter colour he wished to the numbers. Greg Abel’s first quarter (Q1 2026) nonetheless produced a Saturday earnings launch with no accompanying name, simply the report. On condition that he was chosen by Buffett, it’s onerous to think about that altering.
Costco: traditionally refused to offer ahead steering, and the decision is famously quick and unadorned. To maintain their traders knowledgeable, the CFO does month-to-month comp gross sales updates. This has made COST’s quarterly calls uneventful.
Tootsie Roll: Admittedly, BRK & COST are large corporations with unusually loyal shareholders. Let’s take into account a smaller participant: Tootsie Roll. Their Q1 2026 launch was issued on April 22, 2026. The whole doc is a one-page press launch. It’s filed as Exhibit 99.1 to an 8-Ok.
That’s it! No convention name, no webcast, no slide deck, no administration dialogue, no evaluation – simply the bare launch itself. It doesn’t embrace a stability sheet, a money move assertion, or a phase breakdown. Chairman Ellen Gordon features a temporary narrative and a four-line abstract desk. Oh, and exactly zero ahead steering.
Different corporations break up the distinction with pre-recorded calls. The Tisch household runs the Loews Company, and as an alternative of a stay name, they file a written set of “Earnings Remarks” as an exhibit to the 8-Ok in PDF kind; once more, they eschew the stay Q&A format and supply no ahead steering. Google equally pre-records the administration remarks by way of a script recorded as much as 48 hours forward of time. Mark Leonard of Constellation Software program is overtly disdainful of what he calls “IR theater.” The reclusive billionaire shares few speculative opinions past his shareholder letters. (He famously requested the board to cut back his wage to zero.)
Then there’s Robinhood, which has reinvented what an earnings name seems like. CEO Vlad Tenev has stated he’s attempting to “enhance the branding of being a public firm,” which may be very on-brand for a brokerage app in an period when fewer and fewer corporations are going public. (See, e.g., Q2 2025 Earnings Name, July 30, 2025)
They livestream the video on a number of platforms, together with Tenev’s X account, in entrance of an in-person viewers bodily at a venue. The Q1 2026 name (April 28) was held outside at their Menlo Park HQ – it may very well be the first-ever out of doors earnings name in historical past.
Inventory possession is the entry ticket for asking a query – it’s a mixture of retail shareholders, “finance content material creators, analysts, and institutional shareholders. Robinhood begins with the Q&A, by way of Say Applied sciences – Shareholders’ questions are submitted prematurely and “upvoted” throughout the week resulting in the decision.
There are many others: Tesla, Amazon, Opendoor, Netflix, Spotify and Palantir all come to thoughts.
The underside line is that the SEC ought to encourage extra data sharing, larger transparency, and extra frequent earnings reporting — not much less.
Permitting much less data, somewhat than mandating extra, is a step within the unsuitable course.
Beforehand:
Synthetic Intelligence and Quarterly Earnings Reviews (Could 11, 2026)
Report Earnings Every day (Bloomberg, August 20, 2018)
