Buffett, Dimon urge end to quarterly profit forecasts

In this May 7, 2018 file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview in Omaha, Neb.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

OMAHA, Neb. -- Investor Warren Buffett and JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon are encouraging public companies to stop predicting their quarterly earnings and focus on long-term goals.

The two executives said on CNBC Thursday that companies that focus on hitting their quarterly numbers may do things that hurt them in the future, such as delaying investments or changing when certain gains are recorded.

Dimon, who also leads the Business Roundtable group, and Buffett co-wrote an article about why they think quarterly profit forecasts are hurting the economy.

Dimon says companies might forego investments they should make in their business to hit short-term goals.

Buffett has never provided profit forecasts and doesn't even have an investor relations department at his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.