Q1
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | First quarter |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements |
Q1 has two meanings. It stands for First quarter (time) or First quartile (statistics).
Meanings of Q1 at a glance
| # | Q1 stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First quarter | Units & Measurements › Time |
| 2 | First quartile | Units & Measurements › Statistics |
1. First quarter
Units & Measurements · Time Abbreviations · also used in business
The first three months of a year: January through March for calendar-year companies. Most US public companies report Q1 earnings from mid-April to May, and retail sales typically dip after the holiday season.
Example: The company expects Q1 revenue between $2.1 and $2.3 billion.
In fiscal-year terms Q1 can fall elsewhere: for the US federal government it is October to December, and for companies with an April fiscal year, common in Japan and India, it is April to June. Financial writing pairs quarters with years as Q1 2026 or 1Q26. US quarterly reporting is driven by the SEC's Form 10-Q requirement.
2. First quartile
Units & Measurements · Statistics Abbreviations
The value below which 25 percent of observations fall, the 25th percentile. Together with the median and the third quartile it divides sorted data into four equal parts.
Example: Test scores had a median of 74, a Q1 of 65 and a Q3 of 82.
Software uses slightly different interpolation rules, so Q1 can differ between Excel, R and calculators for small data sets; R alone offers nine quantile types. The five-number summary lists the minimum, Q1, median, Q3 and maximum. In business, Q1 usually means the first quarter of a year.
Related abbreviations
More time abbreviations
- MTD – Month to date
- mya – Million years ago
- ns – Nanosecond
- p.m. – Post meridiem (after midday)
- Q2 – Second quarter
- Q3 – Third quarter
- Q4 – Fourth quarter
- QoQ – Quarter over quarter
See all 51 time abbreviations →