SEC Preparing a Proposal to Drop Quarterly Earnings Reports

Summary

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WSJ What’s News – PM Edition

Episode: SEC Preparing a Proposal to Drop Quarterly Earnings Reports
Date: March 16, 2026
Host: Alex Osola (Wall Street Journal)

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Episode Overview

This episode features an exclusive Wall Street Journal report revealing that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to propose eliminating the decades-old requirement for U.S. public companies to release quarterly earnings reports. Other major stories include Nvidia’s shifting role in AI, developments in New York City housing policy affecting mom-and-pop landlords, ongoing Middle East tensions impacting global oil prices, and a positive trend in U.S. crime statistics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. SEC Proposal to End Mandatory Quarterly Earnings Reports

• [01:01 – 02:00]
  • The SEC is contemplating a landmark change: making quarterly earnings reports optional for public companies, allowing them to report semiannually instead.
  • This rule has been in place for over 50 years in the U.S.
  • The proposal could be published as soon as next month, after which it would go to a vote.
  • Potential opposition from investors is expected, as regular disclosures have been fundamental for transparency.
  • The move is partly motivated by a belief that less frequent reporting could encourage more companies to go public.
  • Political backdrop: President Trump supports the change.
  • Notable Insight:
    • “Supporters say it could help boost the shrinking number of public companies in the US.” – Alex Osola [01:31]

2. Nvidia and the Shift to Inference in AI

• [02:00 – 04:50]
  • The Nvidia Developer Conference focuses this year on AI inference, not just the traditional GPU-centered model training.
  • Reporter Robbie Whelan highlights that while Nvidia dominates AI training, it has less control in inference, where AI models respond to live user inputs.
  • Nvidia is expected to introduce a new chip aimed at making inference faster and more efficient.
    • Quote: “Nvidia dominates the world of what's known as AI training. But they don't have quite as much of a foothold in what's known as AI inference.” – Robbie Whelan [02:43]
  • Nvidia’s financial strength and supply chain dominance are key advantages.
    • The company has secured enough memory chip supply for the next 2-3 years.
  • New competition is emerging (e.g., Cerebras, $10B deal with OpenAI).
    • “Suddenly these companies … are finding that the world is really thirsty for their product.” – Robbie Whelan [03:21]
  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote:
    • “2025 was Nvidia's year of inference. We wanted to make sure that not only were we good at training and post training, that we were incredibly good at every single phase of AI.” – Jensen Huang [04:40]

3. U.S.–South Korea AI Collaboration & Tesla’s ‘Cyber Cab’ Trademark Battle

• [04:50 – 07:36]
  • Reflection AI (a U.S. startup backed by Nvidia) is partnering with Korea’s Shinsegae Group to invest billions in building one of Korea’s largest AI data centers, powered by Nvidia chips—aligning with U.S. strategies to export tech and counter China.
  • Tesla is embroiled in a trademark dispute with French beverage wholesaler Unibev over the term “Cyber Cab”, critical to Tesla’s upcoming rollout of driverless robo-taxis.
    • Tesla accuses Unibev of “bad faith trademark squatting.”
    • The case’s outcome could affect Tesla’s international branding for its robo-taxis.

4. NYC Housing Policy and the Mom-and-Pop Landlord Squeeze

• [07:36 – 09:56]
  • Rebecca Pichotto (WSJ housing reporter) breaks down new NYC proposals:
    • Rent freezes and a 9.5% property tax increase threaten small landlords, already under financial stress from past legislation, pandemic effects, and surging costs.
    • Only about 10% of NYC’s multifamily buildings are held by individual “mom-and-pop” landlords; 90% are corporately owned.
      • Corporate landlords can offset losses better via their larger portfolios and market-rate properties.
    • Tenant impact:
      • Larger operators offer efficiency (apps, streamlined maintenance), but smaller landlords offer personal relationships and flexibility in tenant hardship cases.
      • “Small landlords ... often live on the first floor of the building. … A smaller landlord is more willing to work with the renter if they fall behind on their rent payments before just immediately evicting them.” – Rebecca Pichotto [09:37]
  • City Hall suggests: Planned reforms may help lower insurance costs and reform the property tax system to aid smaller landlords.

5. Middle East Conflict, Oil Prices, and U.S. Market Impact

• [10:02 – 11:50]
  • President Trump’s latest on Iran:
    • Claims U.S. strikes are depleting Iran’s missile and drone capabilities.
      • “This is a paper tiger that we're dealing with now. It wasn't a paper tiger two weeks ago. It's a paper tiger now.” – Donald Trump [10:11]
    • Calls for international support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but most U.S. allies are holding back; only a few oil tankers have made it through with some progress.
  • Markets:
    • Oil prices fell as some tanker traffic resumed through the strait.
    • U.S. stock indexes rose, with the Nasdaq up 1.2% and all S&P 500 sectors positive.
    • Gasoline prices remain elevated—up 25% since the conflict began.

6. U.S. Crime Rates Reach Historic Lows

• [11:51 – 12:40]
  • Homicide rate in the U.S. reportedly hit a 125-year low in 2025, with continued declines in robbery and theft post-pandemic.
    • Theories for the drop: federal funding, increased police enforcement, social shifts (less drinking, more time alone).
    • Note of caution: Victimization surveys suggest not all offenses align with the reported drop.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On quarterly reporting:
  • “Supporters say it could help boost the shrinking number of public companies in the US.” – Alex Osola [01:31]
• On Nvidia’s pivot:
  • “Nvidia dominates the world of what's known as AI training. But they don't have quite as much of a foothold in what's known as AI inference.” – Robbie Whelan [02:43]
  • “2025 was Nvidia's year of inference. We wanted to make sure that ... we were incredibly good at every single phase of AI.” – Jensen Huang [04:40]
• On small landlords:
  • “A smaller landlord is more willing to work with the renter if they fall behind on their rent payments before just immediately evicting them.” – Rebecca Pichotto [09:37]
• On Iran’s military status:
  • “This is a paper tiger that we're dealing with now. … It wasn't a paper tiger two weeks ago. It's a paper tiger now.” – Donald Trump [10:11]

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Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | 01:01 | SEC quarterly reporting proposal announcement | | 02:00 | Nvidia, AI inference & chip competition | | 04:40 | Jensen Huang’s conference keynote | | 04:50 | Reflection AI’s SK partnership; Tesla “Cyber Cab” | | 07:36 | NYC rent control, property tax hike, landlord woes | | 09:37 | Personal vs corporate landlords (tenant perspective)| | 10:02 | Trump on Iran, Strait of Hormuz, oil impact | | 11:51 | Crime rates in the U.S. at historic lows |

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Tone

The tone of this episode is brisk, factual, and analytical, balancing headline urgency with in-depth context. The speakers maintain a neutral, objective reporting style, with occasional direct quotes injecting immediacy and insight.

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For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

This episode delivers high-impact market news and reveals a potential structural shift in corporate reporting—one that could reshape investor transparency and the public company landscape. It also connects evolving tech (AI, chips), regulation, housing pressures, geopolitics, and social trends, providing a wide-angle lens on several forces currently shaping business and society.

Transcript

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[Alex Osola]

Nvidia's developers conference kicks off today with a new focus that reflects a big shift in the world of AI. We'll tell you more about inference in just a bit. Plus, new housing policies intended to help New York City renters might end up pushing out mom and pop landlords.

[Rebecca Pichotto]

They've been under financial pressure for years. Rents, you know. Currently they get around a 3% increase each year. If that goes down to zero, landlords fear that the financial pressure they're under could ultimately break them.

[Alex Osola]

And the Wall Street Journal has learned that the SEC is preparing a proposal. It would eliminate the decades old rule for public companies to post financial results every quarter. It's Monday, March 16th. I'm Alex Osoleff for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of what's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world. Today, we are exclusively reporting that the securities and Exchange Commission is working on a proposal to eliminate the requirement that public companies post their earnings every quarter. The proposal would make that optional, or companies could just share results twice a year. We've learned that the SEC could publish this proposal as soon as next month. It then eventually goes to a vote. Any change is likely to face opposition from investors who rely on the transparency of regular disclosures. Publicly traded companies in the US have reported results every three months for more than half a century. The push for semiannual reporting gained steam late last year. President Trump has backed the idea, and supporters say it could help boost the shrinking number of public companies in the US Today was the start of Nvidia's annual developers conference, but this year the focus for the first time isn't on graphics processing units, the powerful chips on which Nvidia built its computing empire, and that the event is named for. Instead, the AI industry has moved into a new phase. Nvidia's customers are less concerned today with training large AI models what GPUs are best at, and more preoccupied with running them and generating big profits from end users. Journal reporter Robbie Whelan told our Tech News Briefing podcast about the AI shift to a type of computing called inference.

[Robbie Whelan]

Nvidia dominates the world of what's known as AI training. But they don't have quite as much of a foothold in what's known as AI inference, how to run models and make them respond to your user queries faster. So we're expecting them to roll out a new chip that's going to make them a lot better and a lot faster, that allow the computer brain to kind of go back into its memory and access all of its training, all the databases that have been pumped into it to teach it how to be an AI model.

[Alex Osola]

This is a new space for Nvidia. But Robbie says that doesn't mean the company is in a bad position.

[Robbie Whelan]

They have more money than just about anybody in this entire space. So I don't think they're going to be too far behind when it comes to developing products quickly that serve inference computing needs and more importantly, perhaps locking up the supply chain that is needed for it to produce inference. So, for example, right now there's a big crunch in supply of memory chips, that there's only a certain number of companies that make memory chips that are usable in AI systems. And Nvidia is one of the biggest buyers of those chips. And they have essentially locked up their supply for the next two or three years. And so there might be other competitors who are smaller who are trying to do the same thing, trying to produce usable, fast, powerful inference systems that don't have the same clout in the supply chain that Nvidia has. There's a company called Cerebras. It's a startup that has raised a ton of money and recently did a $10 billion licensing deal with OpenAI to help OpenAI build its own custom chips for inferencing. So the entire ecosystem is seeing much more competition. And suddenly these companies that seemingly appear out of nowhere, but have actually been doing research for many years, they're suddenly finding that the world is really thirsty for their product.

[Alex Osola]

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company was ready for the era of inference in a keynote speech at the conference today.

[Jensen Huang]

2025 was Nvidia's year of inference. We wanted to make sure that not only were we good at training and post training, that we were incredibly good at every single phase of AI.

[Alex Osola]

And two other tech news updates, we're exclusively reporting that. Reflection AI, a US startup backed by Nvidia, is investing billions of dollars to build artificial intelligence models with South Korean conglomerate Shinsegae Group. The data center will be one of Korea's biggest facilities powering AI models and will be capable of consuming 250 megawatts, roughly the same amount of energy as a small American city. The tens of thousands of chips for the data center will come from Nvidia. The deal is an acceleration of the Trump administration's plans to combat China by exporting American technology around the world. And Tesla is preparing to go to trial. The case before the U.S. patent Office is against a tiny French beverage wholesaler called Unibev. Unibev has claimed the rights to the term Cyber Cab. That's a problem for Tesla, which has plans to start production of driverless robo taxis called Cyber Cabs next month. Tesla sees the cyber cab as the key to its autonomous vehicle and robotics ambitions. In a legal filing, Tesla says Unibev is a, quote, bad faith trademark squatter. In its trademark application, Unibev says it aims to use the name Cyber Cab for its own vehicle, possibly a car, boat or plane. The there's no indication the company has made a vehicle before. The Patent Office could make a decision as late as next year. If the case goes on that long, it could hurt Tesla's ability to market the Cyber cab internationally. Tesla and Unibev didn't respond to requests for comment. Coming up, the latest on the conflict in the Middle east and why oil prices are falling again. That's after the break. Hi. This is Alex Osola, host of the WSJ's what's News podcast. We bring you the biggest news of the day, from business and finance to global and political developments that move markets. If you're looking for more insights and tools to understand the latest headlines, consider becoming a subscriber to the Wall street journal. Visit subscribe.WSJ.com whatsnews to subscribe now, New York City's mom and pop landlords have been a fixture of the city's housing landscape for years. These days, though, they're facing extinction. Recent laws limiting rent increases, paired with higher mortgage rates and other rising costs have made it hard to make a living. And that was before Mayor Zoran Mamdani's recent housing proposals that could push even more landlords to the brink. Rebecca Pichoto covers residential real estate for the Journal and joins us now. Rebecca, Mayor Mamdani has proposed freezing rents and increasing property taxes by nine and a half percent for all of the city's real estate. You write that this adds to the stress of being a mom and pop landlord. Why is that?

[Rebecca Pichotto]

Yeah. So the financial stress of mom and pop landlords goes back probably to the great financial crisis, but their problems got Especially worse after the passage of this 2019 law, which basically meant that landlords could not convert their rent stabilized units to market rate after a tenant moved out. It passed in 2019. Then you get the pandemic, then you get spikes in interest rate and inflation. And so it meant their costs were going up, but they weren't able to raise rents or their revenue with it. And so as a result, they've been under financial pressure for years. Rents, you know, currently they get around a 3% increase each year. If that goes down to zero, landlords fear that the financial pressure they're under could ultimately break them.

[Alex Osola]

We should note that a City hall spokesman said that the mayor's coming housing plan would include efforts to lower insurance costs and reform the property tax system to help with struggling rent stabilized properties. Now you say in your story that 90% of the multifamily buildings in New York have corporations as landlords, citing a housing research nonprofit. Are they affected by these financial pressures too?

[Rebecca Pichotto]

Yeah, you know, anyone who owns a rent stabilized property in New York City is going to be under pressure with that property. But corporate landlords have other investments, often bigger portfolios of market rate apartments that they can offset the losses of the rent stabilized properties with. So as a result, you've had this growing presence of corporate ownership while the, you know, individual ownership shrinks.

[Alex Osola]

Do you have a sense of whether this shift will benefit tenants or hurt them?

[Rebecca Pichotto]

I think there are arguments on both sides.

[Alex Osola]

Right.

[Rebecca Pichotto]

Like corporate owners do have the resources to keep up their buildings. They'll have these apps where you can make a tenant request and they'll get to you, hopefully soon. So in that sense, the operational efficiency of a corporate owner could be beneficial for tenants. But I spoke to a representative from a tenant advocacy group who basically said small landlords, they often live on the first floor of the building. They know their tenants just by nature of having lived in the neighborhood for sometimes decades. This tenants rights representative said, you know, a smaller landlord is more willing to work with the renter if they fall behind on their rent payments before just immediately evicting them than potentially corporate owners.

[Alex Osola]

That was WSJ reporter Rebecca Pichotto. Thanks, Rebecca.

[Rebecca Pichotto]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Alex Osola]

President Trump said in a press conference today that Iran didn't have many missiles left and that the US Was striking the manufacturing plants where Iran made missiles and drones.

[Donald Trump]

This is a paper tiger that we're dealing with now. It wasn't a paper tiger two weeks ago. It's a paper tiger now.

[Alex Osola]

As you heard on this morning's show the president wants other countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil shipping waterway that Iran has effectively shut down. Trump said today that several countries have told him they're on the way to help reopen the strait. He didn't name the countries, but then also said that the US didn't need the help. Most US Allies haven't agreed to take part. Germany has rejected Trump's call for other countries to deploy warships to protect the strait. Japan and Australia have indicated that they're unlikely to send ships, and the UK and France said that they're considering possible action but haven't made any commitments. In the meantime, a handful of oil tankers have made it through. A Pakistani flagged crude oil tanker has crossed the strait while broadcasting its location, the first non Iranian vessel known to have done so since the start of the conflict. An Indian government official said that two India flagged tankers also passed safely through the strait over the weekend with their signals off. Efforts to restore the flow of oil through the Persian Gulf lifted U.S. stocks while oil prices gave up some of their recent gains. Futures for Brent crude, the international benchmark, retreated back to just over $100 a barrel. Still, the average price for a gallon of gas in the US has risen 25% to $3.72 a gallon since the day before the war began. All three US Indexes closed higher today, with the Nasdaq leading the gains and finishing up 1.2%. All 11 sectors of the S and P were up. You heard about Nvidia's developers conference earlier in our show today, and the chip maker added 1.6% in trading. And finally, amid all the turmoil in the world, there's at least one positive trend. Crime in the US Is way down. Last year, the homicide rate fell to at least a 125 year low. Other reported crimes, such as robbery and theft have also continued to drop after the COVID 19 pandemic. So of course you're probably wondering what's driving this. Theories range from an influx of federal funding during the pandemic to stepped up police enforcement. Some also attribute the trend to longer term societal shifts like drinking less and spending more time alone. But some researchers say that victimization surveys don't line up with the fall in reported crime, so the real picture may be a bit less clear for some offenses. And that's what's news for this Monday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Bansy and Pierre Bienname, with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Alex Osola for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning. Thanks for listening.

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[Miriam Gottfried]

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