blackout period


Blackout period

A period of time before the earnings release of a public company during which its directors and specific employees deemed insiders cannot trade the company’s stock.

Blackout Period

The period of time during which an employee may not make any changes to his/her employer-sponsored retirement plan. This usually occurs when the plan is being restructured or when administrative changes are being made. For example, a company may institute a blackout period if it is moving management of its retirement plans to a different brokerage. A blackout period normally lasts approximately 60 days. It is also called the lockdown.

blackout period

1. The time period prior to the release of financial information during which certain employees of a public company are prohibited from trading in the firm's stock. See also window period.2. See lockdown.