President Donald Trump voiced his support for the possible end to the publishing of quarterly reports for publicly traded companies Aug. 17, CNBC reports.
In a 4:30 a.m. tweet, President Trump claimed to have spoken to several business leaders about the need to report quarterly earnings. The leaders reportedly said filing earnings every three months presented an obstacle for growth.
"In speaking with some of the world’s top business leaders I asked what it is that would make business (jobs) even better in the U.S. 'Stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system,' said one. That would allow greater flexibility & save money. I have asked the SEC to study!" the president tweeted.
Upon addressing the issue with reporters later the same morning, President Trump said he would like to see public corporations report their earnings twice a year. He told reporters he spoke with the retiring CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi who reportedly mentioned biannual reporting.
"And I thought of it and it made sense to me, because you know we are not thinking far enough out. We've been accused of that for a long time, this country. So we're looking at that very, very seriously. We're looking at twice a year instead of four times a year," President Trump told reporters, according to CNBC.
Public hospitals and health systems may also be affected by such changes in regulation. Several prominent business leaders making their foray into healthcare have commented on the need to rid companies of their responsibility to report quarterly earnings. The chief executives of JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway told CNBC in June they believe CEOs may be hindering long-term growth by focusing on short-term gains.
"When companies get where they're sort of living by so-called making the numbers, they do a lot of things that really are counter to the long-term interests of the business," Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC.
Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan, along with Amazon, announced in January their plans to create a nonprofit joint venture aimed at lowering the healthcare costs of their employees.
To access the CNBC report, click here.