I personally will collect the bets on which firm will be the first to argue that, because it only reports semi-annually, its stock price cannot be presumed to be efficient and therefore it cannot be the target of a fraud on the market Section 10(b) class action.

Headline quote from the SEC proposal:

The proposed amendments, however, could also lead to efficiency reductions. As discussed above, a switch to semiannual (or hybrid) reporting would likely increase information asymmetries, thereby reducing the informational efficiency of share prices and reducing stock market liquidity for the companies that move away from quarterly reporting.

Also worth noting, to determine if a market is efficient, courts look to whether the company qualifies for S-3 filing – but the SEC proposes to make that a lot easier, too.

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Photo of Ann Lipton Ann Lipton

Ann M. Lipton is a Professor of Law and Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School.  An experienced securities and corporate litigator who has handled class actions involving some of the world’s largest companies, she joined…

Ann M. Lipton is a Professor of Law and Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School.  An experienced securities and corporate litigator who has handled class actions involving some of the world’s largest companies, she joined the Tulane Law faculty in 2015 after two years as a visiting assistant professor at Duke University School of Law.

As a scholar, Lipton explores corporate governance, the relationships between corporations and investors, and the role of corporations in society.  Read more.