When Does a Company’s Fiscal Quarter End?
Understand how companies structure financial reporting periods. Learn why fiscal quarters vary and how to locate a specific company's quarter end dates.
Financial reporting periods provide a structured way to assess a company’s performance and financial health. These periods allow businesses to track progress, make informed decisions, and meet various regulatory obligations. Understanding when a company’s financial reporting cycles conclude, particularly its fiscal quarters, is important for both internal management and external stakeholders like investors.
Understanding Fiscal Quarters
A fiscal quarter represents a three-month period within a company’s fiscal year, used for financial reporting and analysis. Companies typically divide their fiscal year into four quarters, often labeled Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, to track financial performance and prepare interim reports. For example, a company might report earnings for Q1 2025.
A fiscal quarter differs from a calendar quarter. Calendar quarters are fixed periods: January-March (Q1), April-June (Q2), July-September (Q3), and October-December (Q4). Fiscal quarters vary based on a company’s chosen fiscal year, which may not align with the standard calendar year. This allows businesses to align reporting with industry-specific cycles.
How Companies Set Their Fiscal Year
Companies choose their fiscal year-end, which determines their fiscal quarter ends. A fiscal year is a 12-month accounting period used for financial reporting and tax purposes. While many companies, particularly publicly traded ones in the United States, use the calendar year ending December 31, others select a different date.
Businesses often align their fiscal year-end with operational cycles, such as industry seasonality or inventory patterns. For instance, retailers might choose a fiscal year ending in January to account for holiday sales. Other common fiscal year-ends include March 31, June 30, and September 30. The U.S. federal government, for example, operates on a fiscal year that begins October 1 and ends September 30.
Determining Specific Fiscal Quarter Ends
To find a company’s fiscal quarter ends, consult publicly available financial reports. For public U.S. companies, this information is in their annual reports (Form 10-K) and quarterly reports (Form 10-Q), filed with the SEC. These filings are accessible through the SEC’s EDGAR database or the company’s investor relations website. The fiscal year-end is typically stated at the beginning of the 10-K filing.
For a company with a fiscal year ending December 31, quarter ends are March 31 (Q1), June 30 (Q2), September 30 (Q3), and December 31 (Q4). If a company’s fiscal year ends on June 30, its quarters end on September 30 (Q1), December 31 (Q2), March 31 (Q3), and June 30 (Q4). For a fiscal year ending September 30, the quarter ends are December 31 (Q1), March 31 (Q2), June 30 (Q3), and September 30 (Q4).