Financial Reporting Requirements

Federal securities law requires that public companies regularly report their financial condition. This is done through three quarterly reports (SEC Form 10-Q) and one annual report (SEC Form 10-K) each fiscal year. These reports provide comprehensive information about a company’s business and financial condition.

The SEC has different reporting deadlines for different companies. Larger companies (known as accelerated filers) have to complete their filings first. Smaller-reporting companies with less than $75 million floats) are given up to 45 days from the end a quarter to file Form 10-Q and up to 90 days from the end of a fiscal year to file Form 10-K.

If a company doesn’t meet the initial deadline, they can request a 10- day extension. At the end of the extension period, ifthe company is still delinquent in its filing, the SEC will append an “E” to the stock symbol. Once the company completes its SEC filing the “E” will drop back off and the stock will continue trading under its original ticker.

While all smaller reporting companies have the same amount of time to complete the quarterly and annual filings, not all of these companies have the same deadline. This is because different companies can have different fiscal years. One company may have a fiscal year that ends in January. Another may have a fiscal year that ends in August. Keep that in mind as you try to determine when a particular company may be expected to report its earnings.