Corporate Silence

A 2001 CNet article by Sergio G. Non:

For years, publicly traded companies have been citing rules from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as reasons not to discuss almost anything related to corporate operations in the weeks preceding a quarterly report. “SEC-mandated quiet period” often becomes a boilerplate phrase for public-relations personnel when earnings are less than a month away.

Yet it’s not even an SEC rule.

“The quiet period phenomenon is a matter of practice rather than regulation,” SEC spokesman John Heine said. “You’re not going to find a regulation that says ‘you have to be quiet for 30 days’ or something like that. However, there are provisions in securities laws that lead people… to be careful in how they handle certain types of information.”

Via Virtual Pants. Whether it’s a matter of choice or their interpretation of legal requirements, Apple says nothing in the month leading up to quarterly results — and everyone knows that. So I don’t think the timing of yesterday’s WSJ report of “weaker-than-expected demand” was a coincidence.

★ Tuesday, 15 January 2013