President Donald Trump is reviving his push to end quarterly earnings reports for US companies, a change that could reshape how many of radio’s largest publicly traded broadcasters report performance and communicate with investors.
In a post on Truth Social asking that required corporate financial reporting be moved to every six months, Trump wrote, “Did you ever hear the statement that, ‘China has a 50 to 100 year view on management of a company, whereas we run our companies on a quarterly basis???’ Not good!!!”
Any change would have to come from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which requires publicly traded domestic companies to file a Form 10-Q each quarter. The SEC has not signaled that a policy shift is under consideration.
The United States remains more stringent than many of its international peers. The European Union scrapped its continent-wide quarterly reporting mandate in 2013, and the UK ended its requirement the following year. Both reverted to half-yearly reporting while allowing companies to publish voluntary trading updates; many firms continued to share frequent results, but the legal obligation disappeared.
For radio, a move to semiannual reporting could alter the tempo of earnings season. Publicly traded broadcasters such as iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media, and Urban One rely on quarterly filings and conference calls to keep investors, lenders, and advertisers informed about revenue trends.
Reducing those disclosures could make it harder for stakeholders to track momentum through political cycles, sports seasons, and advertising swings.
While SEC rules only apply to public companies like iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, privately held broadcasters vary widely in how often they share financial details. Most recently, Audacy stopped reporting its financials after going private following bankruptcy. Connoisseur Media and Hubbard also do not issue quarterly updates. Others, like TelevisaUnivision, regularly release results.
Research into markets that dropped quarterly mandates has shown mixed outcomes. Some companies continued to provide frequent updates to maintain investor confidence; those that did not often saw thinner analyst coverage and wider information gaps. For smaller, highly leveraged broadcasters that depend on steady visibility, fewer required disclosures could pose added challenges.
Recent earnings cycles have also frequently coincided with cost-cutting across media, heightening the stakes of financial communication’s timeline.
Supporters of semiannual reporting argue it would cut compliance costs and reduce pressure for short-term results, giving executives more time to focus on operations. Critics counter that it could weaken transparency and raise financing costs, particularly for firms that already struggle to attract coverage.
