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Fiscal years and quarters

Why many companies' years don't end on December 31, what 52/53-week years are, and how fiscal years and quarters are named.

Why companies pick a different year end

A company can choose any year end, and usually picks one that fits its business cycle. Retailers often end their year in late January or early February, after the holiday season and its returns: Walmart's fiscal 2026 ended on Jan 31, 2026 and Home Depot's latest fiscal year on Feb 1, 2026. Others end the year on the last day of a calendar quarter other than December, such as Microsoft's June 30.

Month in which each covered company's latest fiscal year ended, from its latest 10-K.

52- and 53-week years

Many companies end the year on the same weekday each time, rather than on a fixed date, so every fiscal year and quarter has a whole number of weeks. That makes stores and factories easier to compare year to year. Most such years have 52 weeks; every five or six years one has 53, which adds an extra week of sales to that year's results.

Apple's fiscal year ends on the last Saturday of September: fiscal 2025 ended on Saturday, Sep 27, 2025. Intel's latest year ended on Saturday, Dec 27, 2025. 22 of the 100 covered companies ended their latest fiscal year on a date other than the last day of a month.

Source: Apple 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Oct 31, 2025 · Intel 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Jan 23, 2026

How the years are named

Most companies name a fiscal year after the calendar year in which it ends. Nvidia's fiscal 2026 ended on Jan 25, 2026, so nearly all of it fell in 2025. A few name it after the year in which it starts: Home Depot's fiscal 2025 ended on Feb 1, 2026. When comparing companies, check the dates, not just the year names.

Source: Nvidia 10-K for fiscal 2026, filed Feb 25, 2026 · Home Depot 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed Mar 18, 2026

Fiscal quarters

A fiscal year is split into four quarters, Q1 to Q4, counted from the start of the fiscal year, not from January. Apple's first fiscal quarter covers October to December, its holiday quarter. A company files a 10-Q for each of the first three quarters; the fourth quarter is covered by the 10-K, and its results usually appear in the earnings release filed with an 8-K. 10-K vs. 10-Q vs. 8-K covers the filings and their deadlines, which count from the end of the fiscal year or quarter.

Comparing companies with different years

When two companies' years end months apart, their results cover different periods: a June year and a December year overlap by only six months. Analysts sometimes add up the four latest quarters (trailing twelve months) or rebuild calendar-year figures from quarterly reports to line them up.

The 33 companies with a year end other than December 31

The 33 covered companies whose latest fiscal year didn't end on December 31, from each company's latest 10-K, sorted by the month and day the year ended. The filing date links to the document.

More in Learn and Tools · Methodology & Disclosures explains where every number comes from.