The federal agency that oversees public markets voted Tuesday to advance a proposal that would let companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges abandon quarterly earnings reports in favor of twice-yearly filings — a shift that would be the biggest overhaul of U.S. corporate disclosure rules in more than half a century.
The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the proposal for public comment on May 5, 2026, giving corporate America a possible off-ramp from a requirement that has existed since the early 1970s. Under the draft rule, companies could check a box on their annual filing to move from four earnings reports per year to a single semiannual report filed on a new form the SEC calls the “10-S,” alongside their existing annual report. No company would be forced to switch; those that prefer quarterly filings can keep them.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins framed the measure as part of a “Make IPOs Great Again” agenda aimed at encouraging companies to go — and stay — public. Atkins said the rigidity of current rules has blocked companies and their investors from choosing the reporting schedule that best fits their business needs. The agency will accept public comments on the proposal for 60 days before taking any further action.
Supporters of the change, including some of the country’s largest banks and stock exchanges, argue that preparing and publishing earnings four times a year places an outsized burden on management teams, consumes significant legal and accounting resources, and encourages executives to make decisions that serve the next quarter’s results over longer-term value creation. Nasdaq published a white paper last year noting that the burden falls especially hard on smaller and mid-sized companies.
Critics counter that quarterly disclosures are a cornerstone of investor protection. They argue that stretching the reporting window to six months could widen the information gap between corporate insiders and ordinary investors, raise the potential for insider trading, and make markets more volatile in the stretches between reports. At least one major financial-industry trade group urged the SEC to weigh reduced corporate paperwork against the timely-information needs of the investors who buy and sell those shares.
For South Carolina, the stakes are direct. Sonoco Products Company, headquartered in Hartsville, and ScanSource Inc., based in Greenville and traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker SCSC, both file quarterly reports under the current regime. ScanSource had earnings scheduled for release May 7 — the day after the SEC’s vote. Both companies would be eligible to opt into semiannual filing if the rule is finalized. Spartanburg-area residents whose retirement savings hold shares of BMW Group AG, Michelin’s Paris-listed parent company, or other multinationals with major South Carolina operations would also feel downstream effects through how frequently those parent companies disclose results to international investors.
The federal hook runs directly through Washington. Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina’s junior senator and chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, holds direct oversight authority over the SEC and its leadership. Banking Committee jurisdiction covers securities regulation, meaning any legislation to codify or constrain the SEC’s proposed rule would move through Scott’s panel. Scott has consistently advocated for reducing regulatory burdens on capital formation and has backed policies designed to broaden access to public markets — positions broadly aligned with the direction the SEC is now taking.
Rep. William Timmons, whose SC-4 congressional district covers Spartanburg and Greenville counties, sits on the House Financial Services Committee, which shares oversight of the SEC. Both lawmakers are positioned to shape whether the proposal advances to a final rule or faces a legislative check.
Even companies that never switch reporting schedules could feel an indirect effect. Index providers that administer major benchmarks like the S&P 500 currently require member companies to report quarterly. If large numbers of companies opt into semiannual filing, index methodology committees will face pressure to revise those rules — a decision that could ripple through the index funds and 401(k) plans that hold shares for millions of South Carolina workers and retirees.
The SEC’s 60-day comment window opens the process for industry groups, institutional investors, accounting firms, and individual shareholders to weigh in before any final vote on the rule.
