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What is a Fiscal Quarter?

A fiscal quarter is a consecutive three-month period within a fiscal year for which a business reports its results. The fiscal quarter concept is of particular importance to publicly-held entities, since they are required to file a set of quarterly financial statements on the Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for each of the first three quarters of the year. The financial results for the fourth quarter are encompassed by the annual Form 10-K, which is also filed with the SEC. Privately-held organizations may completely ignore the fiscal quarter concept, since they do not have an obligation to file a Form 10-Q or 10-K with the SEC.

Quarterly information is examined by the investment community to spot trends in performance, liquidity, and cash flows, which can impact the price of a company's stock. When a business has a seasonal sales model, this analysis most commonly compares the results for a fiscal quarter to the results for the same quarter in the preceding year.

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Examples of Fiscal Quarters

If the fiscal year of a business matches its calendar year, the associated fiscal quarters will be as follows:

Quarter 1 = January 1 through March 31Quarter 2 = April 1 through June 30Quarter 3 = July 1 through September 30Quarter 4 = October 1 through December 31

If a company has a different fiscal year-end, then these quarters will span different periods. For example, if a business has a fiscal year that begins on July 1, then its first quarter covers July 1 through September 30.

Fiscal Quarter Abbreviations

Within the accounting area, these four quarters are frequently referred to in an abbreviated form, which are as follows:

Quarter 1 = Q1Quarter 2 = Q2Quarter 3 = Q3Quarter 4 = Q4

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How does a fiscal quarter differ from a calendar quarter?

A fiscal quarter follows the company’s designated fiscal year rather than the standard calendar year. As a result, its three-month periods may end in months other than March, June, September, and December. This allows reporting periods to better align with business cycles or industry practices.

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