What the letter says
The order under review is the one the Commission approved on July 22: a minimum $5 million market value of listed securities, measured over 30 consecutive business days, enforced by immediate suspension and delisting with no cure period. Commission analysis counted 91 issuers in 2025 that would have failed it. For those companies the consequential part was the missing compliance period, the window normally used to raise capital or recover before a listing is lost.
On July 29, 2026 the SEC’s Office of the Secretary wrote to Nasdaq to say that the Commission has received notices of intention to petition for review of the July 22 order approving the $5 million market value of listed securities continued listing requirement. In accordance with Rule 431(e) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, the letter states, the July 22, 2026 order “is stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.”
The letter is signed by J. Matthew DeLesDernier, Deputy Secretary, and addressed to Nasdaq’s Senior Counsel for Listing and Governance. It adds that the Office of the Secretary will notify Nasdaq of any pertinent action the Commission takes. It gives no timetable and states no view on the merits.
Why the stay is automatic
The July 22 approval was not issued by the Commission itself. The Division of Trading and Markets approved it under delegated authority, 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12), which the order states on its face.
Rule 430 lets a party to a delegated action, or a person aggrieved by it, seek Commission review, generally within five days of actual notice of the action or 15 days of publication in the Federal Register. Rule 431(e) then provides that on the filing of such a notice, “an action made pursuant to delegated authority shall be stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.” The stay follows from the filing itself.
What it means for listed companies
The requirement is not in force. A company whose market value of listed securities sits below $5 million is not currently subject to the suspension and delisting mechanism the July 22 order approved. Nasdaq’s other continued listing standards, including the $1.00 minimum bid price, are unaffected.
How long the stay lasts is unknown. Under Rule 431 the Commission may affirm, reverse, modify, set aside, or remand the delegated action, and the Rules of Practice set no deadline for it to do so. A single Commissioner’s vote can also put the matter up for review.
Companies near the threshold have reason to keep tracking their market value of listed securities and to keep financing options open. The stay can be lifted by a Commission order, without a further rule filing.