Corporate secretaries played games because of an overriding influence: date of a company's annual meeting.
Hedging their bets (that is, wanting to be sure the report arrived in plenty of time prior to the annual meeting of
shareholders), the secretaries bandied about dates ranging around 21 days, sometimes more, when an annual had to
be put in the mail.
I used to tell producers the overriding influence (forget what the corporate secretary said) is the annual meeting—the object being that stockholders would have received the annual report when they voted their proxies.
The New York Stock Exchange (in the words of one producer last year) "extended the window to 120 days
from 90." I assumed it was because of the enormous impact the 9/11 terrorist attacks had on companies around the
world. But come to find out, the NYSE took its action a year earlier—in 2000.
It says (on its website) a U.S. company must issue its annual report "not later than 120 days after close of the fiscal
year." (It doesn't say, though I assume that refers to a calendar year as well.) That 120 days is extended by the
NYSE to "225 days for non-U.S." companies.
But—and here's the kicker, the overriding influence—"not later than at least 15 days in advance of the annual
meeting."
Note there's no reference to when the report must be received by stockholders; only that it be put in the mail two
weeks-and-a-day prior to the annual meeting.
(NYSE-listed non-U.S. companies are "encouraged to do so when possible"—that is, mail not later than 15 days
prior to the annual meeting…and, one assumes, no longer than 120 days after close of its year, though that's not
made clear in either instance.)
Now you know...pretty much.
ADDENDUM: Now, having written the foregoing, NYSE-listed companies, at least, may refer to SEC Release
33-8128.
