Wall Street wants the quarterly reporting requirements because it lets them make more money.
I've worked in the industry for over two decades and the #1 thing I've seen that drives insanity is the quarterly reporting cycle. It's stupid and destructive and inefficient. It seems to exist only to line the pockets of a few wealthy people, and not much utility for anyone else.
Paradoxically, the 10-Q form introduced in the 1970s was intended to prevent insider trading. Obviously reporting less frequently creates enormous headaches on this front. But what it led to is everyone feverishly chasing "number go up" every 3 months, a total disincentive to long-term thinking.
