TLDR
- The SEC has proposed letting public companies report semi-annually instead of quarterly, replacing three 10-Q filings with one new Form 10-S.
- Gaming stocks like Flutter, DraftKings, and Sportradar are all down sharply over the past year.
- Semi-annual reporting could reduce pressure on companies to hit short-term targets each quarter.
- The SEC’s chair says the change could make going public more attractive — part of his “Make IPOs Great Again” push.
- The public comment period closes July 6, and the proposal faced similar pushback when it was floated in 2018.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission proposed in early May to let public companies file financial results twice a year instead of four times. Under the plan, the three quarterly reports filed via Form 10-Q would be replaced by a single semi-annual report using a new form called Form 10-S.
Companies would have either 40 or 45 days from the end of each half-year period to file, depending on their status.
The proposal also includes changes to SEC Regulation S-X, which sets rules for how financial statements must be presented. The agency says these changes would simplify existing requirements.
The US has used quarterly reporting since 1970. Before that, from 1955 to 1970, semi-annual reporting was the standard. Prior to 1955, there was no formal schedule at all.
A public comment period is open until July 6. More than 1,900 comments have already been submitted, with many opposing the change.
Gaming Stocks Have Struggled
Several major gaming stocks have posted steep losses over the past year. Flutter is down 62% over the last 12 months. DraftKings is down 33%. Sportradar has fallen 40%. Las Vegas Sands is down 25% year-to-date. Aristocrat has lost 20% over the past year.
Caesars is up 25% this year following a buyout but remains down 70% from its 2021 high.
These declines stem from a range of factors. The reporting change alone would not reverse them.
Chad Beynon, a senior gaming analyst at Macquarie, said moving to semi-annual reporting could give companies more room to manage their businesses without chasing quarterly numbers.
“If you move to semi-annual, that would get cut in half,” Beynon said, referring to end-of-quarter deal-making by sales teams. “I think that would permit companies to not run the business for quarterly results.”
Sports betting companies face particular seasonal pressure. The busiest periods for sportsbooks — NFL season and March Madness — fall in Q4 and Q1. Under a semi-annual system, a company that has a slow start to football season could wait up to six months before disclosing those results.
A Push to Revive IPOs
SEC Chair Paul Atkins framed the proposal as part of a broader effort to make US listings more appealing. He called this effort the “Make IPOs Great Again” agenda.
Several gaming companies have gone private in recent years through M&A, including Caesars, IGT/Everi, and PlayAGS. There has been little movement toward new gaming IPOs, aside from speculation about Fanatics Betting and Gaming.
Atkins said semi-annual reporting could “reduce some of the burdens of being a public company and potentially influence a company’s decision to become or remain public.”
Gaming equipment suppliers could also benefit. Their research and development cycles are long, and semi-annual reporting would expose them to fewer scrutiny windows each year.
Daron Dorsey, CEO of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, said fewer reporting cycles could support better long-term analysis. Several AGEM members already trade on exchanges like Australia’s ASX and Japan’s TYO, which use semi-annual reporting.
The AGEM Index currently sits at 1,578, down 9% from a year ago.
The proposal was also raised in 2018 under Trump’s first term. The SEC held a roundtable in 2019 but took no action. Critics say the new proposal does not explain what has changed since then to justify revisiting it now.
