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In this work, we obtain closed expressions for the transfer matrix and the transmittance of electromagnetic waves propagating in finite one-dimensional anisotropic periodic stratified media with an arbitrary number of cells. By invoking the Cayley–Hamilton theorem on the transfer matrix for the electromagnetic field in a periodic stratified media formed by N cells, we obtain a fourth-order recursive relation for the matrix coefficients that defines the so-called Tetranacci polynomials (TPs). In the symmetric case, corresponding to a unit-cell transfer matrix with a characteristic polynomial where the coefficients of the linear and cubic terms are equal, closed expressions for the solutions to the recursive relation, known as symmetric TPs, have recently been derived, allowing us to write the transfer matrix and transmittance in a closed form. We show as sufficient conditions that the 4 × 4 differential propagation matrix of each layer in the binary unit cell, Δ , a) has eigenvalues of the form ± p 1 , ± p 2 , with p 1 ≠ p 2 , and b) its off-diagonal 2 × 2 block matrices possess the same symmetric structure in both layers. Otherwise, the recursive relations are still solvable for any 4 × 4 matrix and provide an algorithm to compute the N th power of the transfer matrix without carrying out explicitly the matrix multiplication of N matrices. We obtain analytical expressions for the dispersion relation and transmittance, in closed form, for two finite periodic systems: the first one consists of two birefringent uniaxial media with their optical axis perpendicular to the z -axis, and the second consists of two isotropic media subject to an external magnetic field oriented along the z -axis and exhibiting the Faraday effect. Our formalism applies also to lossy media, magnetic anisotropy or optical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]