Fiscal Quarter

Fiscal quarter means one of the four three-month periods within a company’s fiscal year. In simple terms, a fiscal quarter is one quarter of a company’s financial year. Fiscal quarters are important because companies often report earnings every quarter. Investors compare each quarter with previous quarters and the same quarter from the prior year to understand business trends. For example, if a company’s fiscal year starts in October, its first fiscal quarter may run from October through December. A fiscal quarter is not always the same as a calendar quarter. It depends on when the company’s fiscal year begins.