what are the 4 fiscal quarters 
a fiscal quarter is a three month period in which a company reports its financial results as its name suggests there are four quarterly periods in a year meaning a publicly traded company would issue four quarterly reports per year companies and investors alike use fiscal quarters to keep track of their financial results and business developments over time these quarters are often referred to as q1 q2 q3 and q4 a company can choose how to divide a calendar year into these four quarters companies will often end a quarter at the end of march june september and december a company can elect to have its fiscal year end anytime thereby impacting how its quarters are divided 