Market Signals

Berkshire Hathaway filed an 8-K on August 11, 2026, disclosing the company's earnings release for the second quarter and first six months ended June 30, 2026. The press release was issued on August 8, 2026, and is included as Exhibit 99.1. The filing does not provide specific financial figures, only the fact of the earnings announcement.

Alphabet closed an underwritten public offering of $25 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated senior notes on August 10, 2026. The notes were issued under Alphabet's existing indenture with The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company. The offering includes ten tranches with maturities from 2028 to 2066. The largest single tranche is $4.5 billion in 5.450% notes due 2036 and another $4.5 billion in 6.375% notes due 2056. The longest-dated tranche is $2.5 billion in 6.500% notes due 2066. Shorter maturities include $750 million in floating rate notes due 2028 and $1.25 billion in 4.500% notes due 2028. The filing does not specify the use of proceeds.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. filed its quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026, covering both the second quarter and first half of the year. The filing details operating results across its insurance, railroad, utilities, manufacturing, and retail segments. Insurance underwriting improved, with the property-casualty businesses including GEICO and the Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group showing stronger premiums and lower loss ratios. Burlington Northern Santa Fe continued to generate steady revenue, though the filing cited lower volumes in some freight categories. The utilities and energy segment, led by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, faced ongoing legal exposure from the 2020 Oregon wildfires. A case in Multnomah County Circuit Court (the James case) seeks both economic and non-economic damages from PacifiCorp, with the company disclosing no settlement as of the filing date. Berkshire's equity portfolio remained concentrated in five stocks: Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Chevron, representing a large portion of its investment assets. The company held a significant stake in Occidental Petroleum, acquired through both common stock and warrants. Berkshire continued its share repurchase program, buying back Class A and Class B shares during the period. The filing also noted new debt issuances, including senior notes denominated in U.S. dollars, euros, yen, and sterling, with proceeds used for general corporate purposes.

Amazon's quarterly filing for the period ended June 30, 2026, reveals several capital structure and investment activities. The company issued new senior notes in March, May, and June 2026 denominated in USD, EUR, CHF, and CAD, with maturities ranging from 2028 to 2064. Amazon also holds investments in OpenAI and Anthropic, including preferred stock and warrants, and has a line of credit with Anthropic. The company maintains a share repurchase program authorized in March 2022. A subsequent event in July 2026 includes additional USD-denominated notes and floating-rate notes due 2029.

Apple reported net income of $29.8 billion for the June quarter, up from $23.4 billion a year earlier, on total net sales of $109.4 billion. Product revenue rose to $78.7 billion from $66.6 billion, driven by iPhone and Mac sales. Services revenue hit $30.7 billion, up from $27.4 billion. Gross margin widened to $54.8 billion from $43.7 billion, helped by a product cost of sales that grew slower than revenue. Operating expenses climbed to $19.1 billion, with R&D spending up to $11.7 billion from $8.9 billion. The company held $39.5 billion in cash and equivalents at quarter end, up from $35.9 billion in September. Basic EPS came in at $2.03, up from $1.57. The share count fell to 14.66 billion from 14.90 billion, reflecting ongoing buybacks.

Meta Platforms filed its quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2026. The filing covers the second quarter and first half of the fiscal year. The 10-Q includes the standard financial statements, management's discussion, and disclosures about legal proceedings, debt obligations, and capital allocation. The company has multiple outstanding senior notes issued between 2022 and 2026, with maturities ranging from 2027 to 2062. It also maintains a share repurchase program authorized in January 2017. The filing details ongoing litigation, including an FTC inquiry initiated in 2020, a European Commission statement of objections from November 2024, and various youth-related actions brought by state attorneys general and private plaintiffs. In March 2026, bellwether trials in the youth-related actions were scheduled. Also in March 2026, state attorney general cases were filed. The report notes that in October 2025, Meta acquired a data center campus in Louisiana. As of June 30, 2026, the construction in progress and land for that campus were classified as held for sale. After the quarter ended, in July 2026, Meta announced a data center campus in Texas, expected to be operational by September 2026. The company also disclosed a contingent obligation to purchase cloud capacity. The filing does not provide specific revenue or earnings figures in the excerpt, but the metadata indicates the company reports in two segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment includes advertising and other services. Geographic segments include US & Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. The report was filed with the SEC on July 30, 2026.