Summary
Corporate America has recently reported its best earnings season in years, with record earnings growth of over 50% for the S&P 500. However, a significant portion of this growth is attributed to just two companies, Alphabet and Amazon, which have seen substantial increases in earnings due to their investments in private companies like Anthropic and SpaceX. This raises questions about the sustainability of such earnings growth, as excluding these two firms drops the overall growth figure to around 32%.
The discussion highlights the complexities of earnings reporting, particularly the impact of mark-to-market accounting rules that can distort financial results. While the current earnings figures appear strong, analysts express concern about potential volatility in future quarters if the underlying business performance does not align with inflated valuations. The conversation also touches on broader market dynamics, including the potential for a bubble in AI-related stocks and the implications of changing reporting requirements for companies.
In Europe, earnings growth is also robust, with expectations of over 22% year-on-year growth for the Stoxx 600 index. However, this growth is partially driven by rising oil prices, which may not reflect the overall health of the market. The hosts emphasize the importance of understanding the nuances behind earnings reports and caution against relying solely on headline figures, as they may mask underlying issues in both the US and European markets.
Show Notes
Corporate America has just delivered its best earnings season in years — record beats, record margins, and growth numbers that look almost too good to be true. Which is convenient, because some of them are. Meanwhile, Europe is also delivering the goods. We discuss what's driving the blowout quarter on both sides of the Atlantic. And in today’s Dumb Question of the Week: Why do companies report every three months? --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to £100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns
More from Many Happy Returns
The cost of insuring against Big Tech defaults has hit record highs, as massive data centre spending eats up free cashflow. Further down the AI food chain, markets are pricing in serious odds that CoreWeave defaults, and treating Oracle more like a junk borrower than a tech giant. Is the credit market spotting cracks the stock market has missed? --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to £100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns
The Blue Whale Growth Fund has delivered outsized returns since its inception nine years ago. Recently those returns have come from concentrated bets on the picks and shovels behind the AI boom. We talk to Stephen Yiu, Chief Investment Officer, about how he picks stocks, when he decides to sell, and what the recent chip sell-off means for a fund built on AI hardware. --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to £100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns
After a decade in the doghouse, small-cap value has had its best run in years, but almost nobody noticed. So is this a real premium that’s finally paying out, or just a good year for cheap stocks? We ask what actually drives returns and how you can buy them. --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to £100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns
A Swiss government bond pays half a percent a year. A British one pays more than five. Easy choice, you'd think. But yields can cut both ways. A low yield can mean the world trusts you with its money, or that your economy has stagnated. And high yields can be a sign of a strong economy, or that bond investors are getting nervous. So, low yields or high ones, which would you rather live with? --- Thank you to Trading 212 for sponsoring this episode. Claim free fractional shares worth up to £100. Just create and verify a Trading 212 Invest or Stocks ISA account, make a minimum deposit of £1, and use the promo code "RAMIN" within 10 days of signing up, or use the following link: Sponsored Link. Terms apply - trading212.com/join/RAMIN When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Pies & Autoinvest is an execution-only service. Not investment advice or portfolio management. Automatic investing refers to executing scheduled deposits. You are responsible for all investment and rebalancing decisions. Free shares can be fractional. 212 Cards are issued by Paynetics which provide all payment services. T212 provides customer support and user interface. Terms and fees apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns
Many companies make their money from friction — forgotten subscriptions, tricky cancellations, loyalty penalties. Now AI agents promise to do all the tedious admin and save you money. So is this the end of the laziness tax? Are we about to see subscription-based moats collapse? --- Thank you to Lightyear for sponsoring this episode. I opened my 2025/2026 ISA with Lightyear. If you want to try them out as well, use PENSIONCRAFT to get between £10 and £100 in a fractional share or ETF in your General Investment Account. See full T&Cs at https://lightyear.com/pensioncraft. Investing involves risk. Returns vary and are not guaranteed. ISA rules and promotional terms apply. --- Get in touch 📧 [email protected] 🎧 many-happy-returns.captivate.fm --- Join PensionCraft 🌐 Become a member at pensioncraft.com ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube --- Disclaimer This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes and is not financial advice. We do not provide recommendations or endorse any decision to buy, sell or hold any security. We cannot be held responsible for any actions listeners may take and investors are encouraged to seek independent financial advice. Music ID: ZVMI9V6X4SOWSHY0 Copyright 2026 Many Happy Returns