How fiscal years and quarters work
Fiscal years, quarters and 52/53-week calendars, drawn against the real calendar.
Fiscal year
The twelve months a company keeps its books for. Alphabet, Meta and Amazon use the calendar year; Microsoft ends June 30, Apple in late September, Nvidia in late January.
Named for the year it ends
Nvidia's fiscal 2027 runs late January 2026 to late January 2027, so almost all of it happens in 2026.
Q3 FY2027
The third quarter of fiscal 2027. For Nvidia that is about August to October 2026; for Microsoft, January to March 2027.
52/53-week years
Some years end on a set weekday, like the last Saturday of September. Quarters are 13 weeks; every five or six years a 53rd week is added.
4-4-5 calendars
Each 13-week quarter split into periods of four, four and five weeks, so every quarter has the same number of weeks.
Before open, after close
Results land three to six weeks after a quarter ends, before 9:30 am or after 4:00 pm Eastern, rarely during trading.
Dates on this site
- ReportedThe results are out: the release is on file with the SEC.
- ConfirmedThe company has announced this date.
- EstimatedExpected date from a data vendor. The company has not announced it yet.
- ProjectedOur projection: the same quarter a year earlier, plus 52 weeks. Not announced by anyone.
Companies by fiscal year end
January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December
Questions
What is a fiscal year?
The twelve-month period a company uses for its accounts. It can match the calendar year or end in any month; companies pick a year end that suits their business, often after their busiest season.
How is a fiscal year named?
After the calendar year it ends in. A fiscal year that ends in January 2027 is fiscal 2027, even though almost all of it falls in 2026.
What is a 52/53-week fiscal year?
A year that always ends on the same weekday, such as the last Saturday of September, instead of a fixed date. Most years have 52 weeks; roughly every five or six years one has 53.
What is a 4-4-5 calendar?
A way to split a 13-week quarter into months of four, four and five weeks, so every quarter has the same number of weeks. Retailers and chip makers use it to compare quarters like for like.
What does Q3 FY2027 mean?
The third quarter of fiscal year 2027. For a company whose year ends in January, that is roughly August to October 2026.
Dates from filings and public calendars. Not investment advice. Logos via logo.dev; trademarks belong to their owners.