Fiscal Year End

A company's fiscal year end is the last day of the annual accounting period it reports on, and it is the date from which SEC annual and quarterly reporting deadlines are counted. Many companies use December 31, but a fiscal year can close on whatever date the company adopts.

Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 defines the fiscal year as the company's annual accounting period, and says that if no closing date has been adopted, the fiscal year is the calendar year ending December 31.

Full guide: 10-K vs 10-Q: What's the Difference and Which One Should You Read?

Nearly every periodic deadline is keyed to this date. Form 10-K is due 60, 75, or 90 days after fiscal year end, depending on whether the company is a large accelerated, accelerated, or non-accelerated filer. Form 10-Q covers each of the first three fiscal quarters, not calendar quarters, and no 10-Q is filed for the fourth quarter because the 10-K covers it. Insiders' annual Form 5 is due within 45 days after the issuer's fiscal year end. Filer status itself is determined as of fiscal year end, using public float measured at the end of the second fiscal quarter.

A company can change its fiscal year. When it does, it discloses the decision under Item 5.03 of Form 8-K — the date of the decision, the new fiscal year end, and which form will carry the transition-period report — unless the change was put to a shareholder vote or made through an amendment to its charter or bylaws. The gap between the old and new year ends is then covered by a transition report, filed on Form 10-K or 10-Q under Exchange Act Rules 13a-10 or 15d-10.

For analysis, the fiscal calendar matters whenever companies are compared. A company's "fiscal 2025" may end months before or after a peer's, so annual figures for two companies with different year ends cover overlapping but different stretches of time. GeminIQ labels each reported period by its end date, so that difference stays visible rather than being hidden behind a year label.