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**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT**

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to dive into 3M's first quarter 2026 results. Jordan, this was quite an interesting call from the industrial giant.

JORDAN: Absolutely, Alex. And before we jump in, I want to remind our listeners that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

ALEX: Thanks for that, Jordan. Now, let's talk 3M. The headline numbers were pretty solid - earnings per share of $2.14, up mid-teens from last year, and operating margins improved 30 basis points to 23.8%. But the revenue story was a bit more nuanced, wasn't it?

JORDAN: That's right. Organic growth came in at just 1.2% for the quarter, which CEO Bill Brown called a "light start to the year." But here's what caught my attention - orders were up over 10%, and backlog grew double digits both sequentially and year-over-year. That's typically a good leading indicator.

ALEX: And Brown seemed pretty confident about that acceleration, didn't he? He kept emphasizing that they expect growth to pick up in Q2 and the back half of the year. What do you think is driving that optimism?

JORDAN: Well, there are a few factors. First, they're seeing strong momentum in what they call their "commercial excellence" initiatives - basically better sales effectiveness and reduced customer churn. They've already captured $80 million of new business against a three-year target of $100 million. Plus, they're launching new products at an accelerated pace - 84 new products in Q1, up 35% from last year.

ALEX: I was fascinated by their AI initiatives. They mentioned using AI tools to analyze sales data and create customized coaching plans for sales managers. And there's this "Ask 3M Company" AI assistant that helps customers find solutions. It feels like they're really embracing technology to drive growth.

JORDAN: Absolutely. And speaking of technology, one of the most interesting parts of the call was their discussion of the data center business. They highlighted expanded beam optics - or EBO - which is apparently a high-performance optical connector for data centers. With hyperscaler validation and what they called a "billion-dollar-plus addressable market," they're investing to more than double capacity.

ALEX: That ties into the broader AI and data center boom we're seeing across the market. But let's talk about some of the challenges. They mentioned softness in consumer electronics and automotive, which affected about 40% of their portfolio.

JORDAN: Right, and this is where the story gets interesting from a portfolio management perspective. Brown talked about how roughly 60% of their businesses showed strength, while 40% faced macro headwinds. In electronics, they saw strong performance in semiconductors and data centers, but consumer electronics was soft due to what they called "industry-wide memory chip issues."

ALEX: And then there was this interesting discussion about pre-buying. CFO Anurag Maheshwari and Brown acknowledged that some of the strong order growth might have been customers buying ahead of price increases. How significant do you think that was?

JORDAN: It's hard to quantify, but they seemed to suggest it was a factor. They're implementing price increases due to rising oil costs - about $125 million of cost impact that they're offsetting with roughly 50 basis points of additional pricing. Brown mentioned they learned from their experience with tariffs and are moving much faster on pricing this time.

ALEX: Let's talk about their operational transformation. They're really re

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**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT**

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**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn quarterly calls into coffee-shop conversations. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan to break down 3M's Q4 2025 earnings call that just wrapped up. Jordan, this was one of those calls where the CEO really wanted to drive home that the turnaround is working.

**JORDAN:** Absolutely, Alex. And before we dive in, let me quickly mention - this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**ALEX:** Thanks for that reminder. Now, let's get into the numbers because 3M delivered some solid results here. Organic growth of 2.2% in Q4, operating margin of 21.1%, and earnings per share came in at $1.83. But the real story is the full-year performance - they grew organic sales 2.1% for the year, which is a nice acceleration from that 1.2% they posted in 2024.

**JORDAN:** What really caught my attention was the margin expansion story. They delivered 23.4% adjusted operating margin for the full year - that's up 200 basis points year-over-year and at the high end of their guidance. CEO Bill Brown has been hammering this "commercial excellence" message for the past 21 months, and it seems like it's actually working.

**ALEX:** Yeah, and let's talk about innovation because this is where things get interesting. They launched 284 new products in 2025 - that's up 68% from the prior year. Brown was pretty excited about this, saying sales from products launched in the last five years were up 23% for the full year.

**JORDAN:** That's a key metric to watch, Alex. They call it their "new product vitality index" or NPVI, and it hit 13% - about two points above where they started the year. But here's what I found fascinating - Brown said about 80% of their R&D spending is now focused on what they call "priority verticals" - the higher-growth, higher-margin areas.

**ALEX:** Right, and speaking of those priority verticals, they represent about 60% of the business now. Brown hinted that there's going to be some portfolio reshuffling ahead. He mentioned about 10% of their business is in more commodity-like areas that they're probably going to think about exiting over time.

**JORDAN:** The operational metrics were impressive too. Their OTIF - that's on-time, in-full delivery - hit 90%, up 300 basis points from the prior year. Brown called it "the best we've achieved in decades" and they sustained that rate for seven months straight. That's the kind of operational excellence that actually moves the needle with customers.

**ALEX:** Now let's talk guidance because this is where it gets really interesting for investors. For 2026, they're calling for organic sales growth of approximately 3% - so accelerating from that 2.1% they just posted. They expect adjusted operating margin expansion of 70 to 80 basis points, and EPS of $8.50 to $8.70.

**JORDAN:** What I like about this guidance is the confidence in their "outgrowth" strategy. Brown said they expect the macro environment to be around 1.7% growth, but they're guiding to 3% organic growth. That delta - over $300 million - is what he calls outperforming the macro, and about half of that is coming from new product introductions.

**ALEX:** The Q&A had some interesting moments too. There were several questions about tariffs, which makes sense given the current political environment. Brown said they're already dealing with about $140 million in gross tariff impact, and there could be additional headwinds if new Europe tariffs get implemented.

**JORDAN:** Yeah, Brown was pretty measured on that topic. He said if the prop

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! Today we're diving into Meta Platforms' Q2 2026 results. Before we get into it — this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: And there's a lot to unpack this quarter. Meta posted $60.8 billion in total revenue, up 28% year-over-year. Ad revenue alone hit $59.4 billion, up 27%.

ALEX: Zuckerberg opened by pointing out 3.6 billion people use at least one Meta app daily. Instagram hit 2 billion daily actives, Threads crossed 500 million monthly actives, and WhatsApp set an all-time messaging record during the World Cup final — 30 million messages a second.

JORDAN: That scale is the whole thesis here, honestly. Everything Meta wants to do with AI — better recommendations, better ads, agents — it all rides on that massive built-in audience. But let's talk numbers first, because there's some nuance. GAAP operating income was actually down 8% year-over-year, to $18.8 billion.

ALEX: Right, but that's a bit misleading on its face. That includes a $2.4 billion legal charge and $1.2 billion in severance from the May headcount reduction — about 8,000 employees.

JORDAN: Exactly, strip those out and operating income would've been up 9% year-over-year. Net income landed at $15.8 billion, or $6.18 per share. Free cash flow, though, only $784 million — that's a steep drop, mostly because CapEx is running hot.

ALEX: Which brings us to the big number everyone's watching: capital expenditures. $31.1 billion this quarter, and full-year 2026 guidance got narrowed upward to $130-145 billion.

JORDAN: That's an enormous number. And they just announced a new venture with BlackRock for a one-gigawatt data center in El Paso, Texas — a sign they're leaning on outside capital, not just their own balance sheet, to fund this build-out.

ALEX: Susan Li made a point of that on the call — evolving their capital structure to include more debt, plus these external partnerships, to keep funding infrastructure without straining the core business.

JORDAN: Now let's get into the strategy, because Zuckerberg laid out basically three pillars. One, AI accelerating the core business — ads and recommendations. Two, personal agents as the next big consumer product. Three, an enterprise play — selling APIs, business agents, and even compute directly to other companies.

ALEX: The core business numbers back that up already. They introduced something called Meta Generative Recommender — using LLMs to match ads and users together rather than scoring ads one by one. That drove an 8.3% increase in ad clicks and a 15.7% uplift in conversions on Facebook.

JORDAN: Those are real, tangible performance gains, not just hype. And on the content side, Instagram time spent grew double digits year-over-year, largely from better Reels and feed recommendations powered by these LLM systems.

ALEX: Then there's the more speculative stuff — personal agents. Zuckerberg was pretty candid that they haven't shipped this yet. He talked about it a lot but kept saying "we'll have more to share soon."

JORDAN: Which is interesting contrast to business agents, where they actually have traction now — over 1 million businesses using Meta Business Agents weekly across WhatsApp and Messenger. There was a great example: Movida, a Brazilian rental car company, saw a 44% increase in daily bookings through WhatsApp, with 85% of conversations resolved entirely by AI without human help.

ALEX: That's a concrete enterprise proof point. On the Q&A front, one exchange stood out to me — Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak asked which of

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**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT: Meta Q1 2026 Earnings**

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**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! I'm Alex, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Jordan. Today we're diving into Meta's Q1 2026 earnings call, and wow - there's a lot to unpack here.

Before we jump in, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Jordan, Meta just reported some pretty impressive numbers - $56.3 billion in total revenue, up 33% year-over-year. That's a monster quarter!

**JORDAN:** Absolutely, Alex. And that earnings per share of $10.44 really caught my attention, though there's a big asterisk there - they had an $8 billion tax benefit that boosted things significantly. Without that, we're looking at $7.31 per share, which is still solid but gives us a clearer picture of the underlying performance.

**ALEX:** Right, and speaking of underlying performance, the engagement metrics are where things get really interesting. Mark Zuckerberg spent a lot of time talking about their new AI model called "Muse Spark" from their Meta Superintelligence Labs. This seems like their big bet on competing with OpenAI and Google in the AI race.

**JORDAN:** That's the story of this earnings call, Alex. Meta is going all-in on AI, and I mean ALL-IN. They're increasing their capital expenditure guidance to $125-145 billion for 2026 - that's up from their previous range of $120-135 billion. We're talking about massive infrastructure investments here.

**ALEX:** And the results seem to be paying off already. They're seeing double-digit increases in Meta AI sessions per user since launching Muse Spark. But what really stood out to me was how they're using AI to improve their core recommendation systems. On Instagram, they drove a 10% lift in Reels time spent, and on Facebook, total video time increased more than 8% globally - that's the largest quarter-over-quarter gain in four years!

**JORDAN:** Those engagement improvements are crucial because that's what drives ad revenue, which was $55 billion this quarter, up 33%. But here's what's fascinating - they're not just throwing more ads at people. They're using AI to make ads more effective. They mentioned a 6% increase in conversion rates for landing page view ads and over 8 million advertisers now using their AI-powered creative tools.

**ALEX:** The business AI piece is really taking off too. Susan Li mentioned they now have over 10 million weekly conversations between people and business AIs on their messaging platforms - that's up from just 1 million at the start of the year. That's 10x growth in just one quarter!

**JORDAN:** And let's talk about the elephant in the room - that massive increase in contractual commitments. They added $107 billion in contractual commitments this quarter for infrastructure and cloud deals. That's not just spending money; that's locking in capacity for the next several years.

**ALEX:** Which brings us to the cost management side. Meta announced they're planning workforce reductions in May. They're calling it a move toward a "leaner operating model" to help offset these substantial AI investments. It's interesting - they're betting that AI will make their remaining employees more productive.

**JORDAN:** The Ray-Ban smart glasses story continues to be a bright spot too. Daily users tripled year-over-year, and they're expanding beyond just Ray-Ban to other brands. Mark mentioned this is "one of the fastest growing categories of consumer electronics ever." That's a bold claim, but the numbers seem to back it up.

**ALEX:** In th

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Meta Q4 2025 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive into the numbers that move markets. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan. Today we're breaking down Meta's Q4 2025 earnings, and folks, this one's a doozy.

Before we dive in, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex. And wow, where do we even start with Meta? These numbers are absolutely crushing it. We're talking about $58.9 billion in Q4 revenue - that's up 25% year-over-year. The advertising business alone hit $58.1 billion, up 24%. These are some of the strongest growth numbers we've seen from Meta in years.

**ALEX:** Right, and what's really striking is the guidance for Q1 2026. They're projecting $53.5 to $56.5 billion in revenue - that would be the fastest growth rate in almost five years. Jordan, what's driving this acceleration?

**JORDAN:** It's really a perfect storm of improvements, Alex. Susan Li, their CFO, highlighted three main drivers. First, they're seeing massive gains from their AI-powered recommendation systems. On Facebook alone, they drove a 7% lift in views of organic feed and video posts in Q4 - and get this - that was the largest quarterly revenue impact from Facebook product launches in the past two years.

**ALEX:** That's incredible. And they're not stopping there, right?

**JORDAN:** Not at all. They're completely rebuilding their AI infrastructure. Mark Zuckerberg announced they're investing between $115 to $135 billion in capital expenditures for 2026. That's a massive step-up, primarily for their new Meta Superintelligence Labs. Zuckerberg said they're six months into rebuilding their AI efforts and he's "very pleased with the quality of the team."

**ALEX:** Speaking of Zuckerberg, his vision for 2026 was pretty ambitious. He's talking about "personal superintelligence" and AI agents that really understand users' personal context. What does that actually mean for the business?

**JORDAN:** It's fascinating, Alex. He outlined three key areas. First, they're merging large language models with their existing recommendation systems. So instead of just showing you content based on past behavior, the AI will understand your personal goals and tailor feeds to help you improve your life in specific ways.

Second, they're revolutionizing commerce. Their ads help businesses find the right customers, but soon they want AI shopping tools that help users find exactly the right products from their business catalog.

**ALEX:** And the third area?

**JORDAN:** New content formats. Zuckerberg believes we're moving beyond video to more immersive, interactive experiences. He mentioned their AI glasses sales more than tripled last year, and he compared this moment to when flip phones became smartphones - inevitable transformation.

**ALEX:** Let's talk about the financials though. With all this massive investment, are they still profitable?

**JORDAN:** Here's what's interesting - despite spending up to $169 billion in total expenses for 2026, Susan Li said they expect operating income to be above 2025 levels in absolute dollars. Not growth rate, mind you, but actual dollar amounts. That's pretty impressive given the scale of investment.

**ALEX:** What about their other businesses? Reality Labs has been a drag on profitability for years.

**JORDAN:** Good news there. Zuckerberg said Reality Labs losses will be similar to 2025 levels, and this will "likely be the peak" as they start to gradually reduce losses goin

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WELCOME TO BETA FINCH — MEDTRONIC Q1 FY2027

ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan, and today we're digging into Medtronic's fiscal 2027 first quarter — and it's a big one.

JORDAN: Yeah, a lot to unpack here. Big beats, a couple of surprise M&A announcements, and a robotics story that's getting more interesting by the day.

ALEX: Before we jump in, quick note — this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: With that out of the way, let's get into the numbers, because they were strong.

ALEX: $9.8 billion in revenue, up 13.7% organically, adjusted EPS of $1.45 — both well ahead of what analysts were expecting. Now, a chunk of that growth came from an accounting quirk: fiscal 2027 is a 53-week year, and that extra week added about 670 basis points to growth this quarter.

JORDAN: Right, but even stripping that out, CFO Thierry Piéton said it was their strongest quarterly performance in nearly eight years, excluding COVID comparisons. So this wasn't just a calendar trick — the underlying business is actually accelerating.

ALEX: And it was broad-based. CEO Geoff Martha kept hammering that point — it's not one hot product carrying the quarter, it's basically every major business line pulling its weight.

JORDAN: The headline story, though, is Cardiac Ablation Solutions — CAS. That business grew 88% worldwide, 139% in the U.S. They crossed $2 billion in trailing twelve-month revenue, ahead of schedule. Their Sphere-9 catheter picked up nine points of U.S. market share this quarter alone.

ALEX: Nine points in one quarter is wild for medtech.

JORDAN: It really is. And they're guiding CAS to grow at 2.5 times the broader electrophysiology market for the full year — even upgraded that to more than 3x for Q2. The U.S. installed base for their Affera system grew 35% sequentially, on top of 40% the quarter before.

ALEX: Which tells you they're nowhere near saturated. Management said 75% of that installed base is still concentrated in high-volume hospital centers, so there's a long runway into smaller accounts.

JORDAN: Beyond CAS, Cardiac Rhythm Management grew 15%, Cranial & Spinal Technologies grew 13%, and Surgical — their biggest unit at over $6 billion a year — grew 9%. Pelvic health jumped 15%, largely thanks to Altaviva, where procedures doubled sequentially.

ALEX: Now let's talk strategy, because Medtronic made two acquisition-adjacent announcements the same morning as earnings. First, a $700 million strategic investment and distribution deal with Cornerstone Robotics for their Sentire surgical robot, outside the U.S.

JORDAN: This one got some pointed questions on the call. One analyst basically asked, "Does this mean you've lost confidence in Hugo, your own robot?" And Martha pushed back hard — said it's the opposite. Hugo's on track to hit 50,000 procedures by year-end, growing at twice the market rate. Cornerstone is about extending reach into international markets where Hugo isn't the right fit, not replacing it.

ALEX: Basically building a multi-platform robotics portfolio instead of betting everything on one system.

JORDAN: Exactly — and Thierry noted the financial impact this year is minimal, mostly just some foregone interest on that investment, but they expect real revenue and margin lift starting in fiscal 2028.

ALEX: The second deal was Pi-Cardia, in structural heart — first FDA-cleared technology for leaflet modification in TAVR procedures for patients at risk of coronary obstruction. That's part of a broader doubling-down in structural heart, alongside their earlier investment in Anteris.

JORDAN: On guidance, they ra

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Medtronic Q4 2026 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome back to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive deep into the numbers that matter. I'm Alex, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Jordan. Today we're unpacking Medtronic's fourth quarter 2026 results, and folks, this is a company that's clearly hitting its stride.

Before we dive in, I need to share an important disclaimer: This podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex, and wow - where do we even start with Medtronic? These numbers are impressive. The company just posted $9.8 billion in Q4 revenue, up nearly 10% reported and 6.6% organically. But here's what really caught my attention - this caps off their strongest annual performance in a decade.

**ALEX:** That's right, Jordan. For the full fiscal year, they hit $36.4 billion in revenue with 8.4% reported growth and 5.8% organic growth. CEO Geoff Martha was clearly proud of these results, calling it a reflection of their "commitment to operational rigor" while investing in durable growth. But let's talk about what's really driving this performance.

**JORDAN:** The star of the show has got to be their Cardiac Ablation Solutions business - or CAS. This division delivered 78% worldwide growth and gained 8 points of U.S. market share. Their PFA technology saw 145% global growth, with their Sphere-9 catheter continuing to show "broad versatility," as Martha put it.

**ALEX:** And here's what's really exciting about CAS - they're still in the "early innings," as CFO Thierry Pieton noted. The company increased their installed base by 40% just in the fourth quarter alone. They're now annualizing over $2 billion in revenue and are on track to hit that $2 billion trailing mark in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. That's massive scale in a high-growth market.

**JORDAN:** What I found fascinating was Martha's comment about "completely surrounding the electrophysiology space." They're not just selling one product - they're building an entire ecosystem. They launched Sphere-9 in Japan, got FDA approval for a U.S. VT pivotal trial, and even announced two targeted investments in ICE catheter technology this morning.

**ALEX:** Speaking of investments, let's talk about their capital allocation strategy because this is where you really see the company's long-term vision. In Q4 alone, they closed or announced nearly $2 billion in additional investments through M&A and venture deals. They acquired CathWorks for their AI-powered FFRangio system, announced plans to buy Scientia for neurovascular guidewire tech, and made investments in everything from chronic pain management to pulmonary artery denervation.

**JORDAN:** That's a great point, Alex. And it's not just about buying technology - it's about strategic positioning. Take their Symplicity Spyral system for treating hypertension. This business is now annualizing at $100 million, and they've doubled their weekly procedure volumes since getting the NCD coverage decision. Martha emphasized that 18 million Americans still have uncontrolled hypertension despite multiple medications - that's a massive addressable market.

**ALEX:** Let's shift to the numbers that investors will be watching closely. For fiscal 2027, Medtronic is guiding to organic revenue growth of 6.75% to 7.25%. Now, there's an extra selling week baked into that, which adds about 125 basis points, but even adjusting for that, we're looking at solid mid-single-digit growth acceleration.

**JORDAN:** The guidance is particularly interesting because of how they're handling the MiniMed diabetes business. They completed the IPO in March, but

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script - Medtronic Q3 2026 Earnings

**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we turn complex quarterly reports into clear insights. I'm Alex.

**JORDAN**: And I'm Jordan. Today we're diving into Medtronic's Q3 2026 results, and wow - this was quite the quarter for the medical device giant.

**ALEX**: Before we jump in, I need to share our mandatory disclaimer: This podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN**: Right, thanks Alex. So Medtronic - ticker MDT - just reported some pretty impressive numbers. Let's start with the headline figures. Revenue hit $9 billion, growing 8.7% reported and 6% organically. That's actually a 50 basis point acceleration from the prior quarter.

**ALEX**: And they beat their own guidance by 50 basis points too. The real star here was their cardiovascular portfolio, which grew 11% year-over-year - that's the strongest growth they've seen in cardiovascular in the last ten years, excluding COVID comps.

**JORDAN**: The standout within cardio was their Cardiac Ablation Solutions, or CAS business, which includes their pulse field ablation technology. This grew 80% year-over-year, with PFA accounting for 80% of that revenue. CEO Geoffrey Martha seems really excited about this - they're calling it one of their "generational growth drivers."

**ALEX**: Speaking of growth drivers, Medtronic is really pushing four major ones: their PFA technology, the Simplicity Spyral system for hypertension, Altaviva for urinary incontinence, and their Hugo surgical robot. Jordan, what caught your attention in the management commentary?

**JORDAN**: What's fascinating is how they're building entirely new markets. Take their Simplicity system for hypertension - they launched a direct-to-consumer campaign called "Go Beyond" and saw website visits jump from 50,000 in Q2 to 2.5 million in Q3. That's a 50x increase! They opened over 200 new accounts this quarter and now have about 100 million covered lives, which is roughly one-third of the US population.

**ALEX**: That consumer demand story is really compelling. And it sounds like they're seeing great patient outcomes, which is driving physician excitement. But let's talk numbers - what about profitability?

**JORDAN**: Adjusted EPS came in at $1.36, beating the midpoint of guidance by 3 cents. However, gross margins are taking a hit from business mix - specifically from CAS and their Diabetes business. CFO Thierry Pieton explained that CAS currently has an unfavorable mix of lower-margin capital equipment to higher-margin catheters, since they're still in early launch phase.

**ALEX**: But that should improve over time as the installed base grows and catheter sales increase relative to the initial capital equipment, right?

**JORDAN**: Exactly. Pieton said they expect to see that mix inflection in the second half of next year, with CAS actually driving gross margin improvement as early as fiscal 2027. There's also the Diabetes business separation they're planning - since Diabetes has lower margins than the rest of the business, spinning it off should provide a natural margin lift.

**ALEX**: Let's talk about that guidance for fiscal 2027. They're maintaining their expectation for high-single-digit EPS growth, but there are some moving pieces.

**JORDAN**: Right, there are several puts and takes. They'll have a full year of tariff impact - about $300 million versus $185 million in 2026. There's an extra selling week that will help growth. And the Diabetes separation will create some temporary dilution of 1-2 cents per month between the IPO and the full split, since they lose 20% of Diabetes p

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown, where we take the market's biggest calls and turn them into something you can actually digest — Oreo pun fully intended today. I'm Alex, joined as always by Jordan. Today we're digging into Mondelez International's second quarter 2026 results.

Before we get into it — this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

JORDAN: And there's a lot to unpack here, Alex, because this call had a bit of everything — a new CFO on his first earnings call, strong emerging markets momentum, a North America turnaround story, and a genuinely fascinating deep dive into Biscoff, of all things.

ALEX: Let's start with the numbers. Mondelez posted organic net revenue growth of 4.4% in Q2, and importantly, that was volume-led, not just price-driven. Gross profit dollars were up 3%, and management actually raised the full-year top-line guide to "at least 2%" growth, while holding EPS guidance steady.

JORDAN: That EPS hold is worth sitting with for a second. It's not a red flag — CFO Amit Banati, who's only a few weeks into the job, was pretty clear they're reinvesting any upside back into the business rather than dropping it to the bottom line. He talked about doubling down on emerging markets and innovation, plus absorbing some incremental costs tied to the Middle East conflict.

ALEX: Right, and there's a phasing wrinkle for the back half — they flagged that Q3 earnings will look a little softer below the line because of cocoa cost phasing and some tax and interest items lapping, with Q4 more back-weighted. Management called it "mechanical," nothing structural.

JORDAN: Let's talk regions, because the story is genuinely different in each one. Emerging markets were the standout again — a second straight quarter of real strength. CEO Dirk Van de Put pointed to expanding distribution, like 100,000 new stores added in India and Brazil crossing the 1 million store mark. He was emphatic that this is structural, not cyclical — under-penetrated categories, years of reinvestment, a good mix of global and local brands hitting every price tier.

ALEX: North America was the pleasant surprise. Consumer confidence there is still shaky — Van de Put described a "K-shaped" pattern where shoppers are either chasing value or trading up to premium, with not much happening in the middle. But Mondelez is finding growth in both directions: high-single-digit growth in value channels, mid-single-digit in away-from-home, and share gains across categories, with Ritz innovation and the Perfect Snacks and Tate's ventures brands doing real work.

JORDAN: And then Europe — that's the recovery story still in progress. COO Luca Zaramella said volumes are trending positive and should keep improving in the second half as they lap last year's pricing. There was a heat wave hitting chocolate consumption in Q2 and continuing into Q3, but he sounded genuinely optimistic about a rebound in both top line and profitability heading into 2027.

ALEX: Speaking of Zaramella, one of the most useful moments on this call was his cocoa commentary. Cocoa prices have been jumpy again, and he made the case that this is nothing like the 2024 crisis — industry coverage is now at 10 months versus just seven back then, and he's projecting at least half a million metric tons of surplus this year, roughly 10% of total demand.

JORDAN: That's a meaningful reassurance for anyone worried about a repeat of the margin squeeze we saw a couple years ago. He also mentioned the company is deliberately shifting its portfolio to be less cocoa-reliant over time, which is a smart structural hedge regardless of where prices go next.

ALEX: Now, the Biscoff conversation was honestly one of the m

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Mondelez Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we decode the numbers that move markets. I'm Alex, and joining me as always is Jordan. Today we're diving into Mondelez International's Q1 2026 results - and folks, this one's got some interesting twists.

Now, before we get into the snack food giant's performance, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN**: Thanks Alex. And what a quarter this was for Mondelez. Right off the bat, we're seeing some really compelling geographic dynamics here. Emerging markets absolutely crushed it with 6.3% growth, while developed markets are showing signs of recovery after some challenging periods.

**ALEX**: That's right. And Jordan, I think what stood out to me most was CEO Dirk Van de Put's commentary about the consumer landscape. It's this tale of two worlds - you've got emerging markets like India showing double-digit growth, but then you have this underlying fragility everywhere due to Middle East tensions affecting energy and commodity costs.

**JORDAN**: Exactly. And let's talk numbers for a second. That emerging markets growth of 6.3% is really broad-based. India was particularly strong with double-digit growth in both chocolate and biscuits. They even launched Biscoff in India and the line is already sold out - that's the kind of execution you want to see.

**ALEX**: Speaking of Biscoff, this partnership keeps coming up as a major growth driver. Van de Put seemed genuinely excited about it, calling it something that will be "really quite big for them and for us in the coming years." They're not just doing biscuits - they're incorporating Biscoff cream and crumbs into their chocolate products too.

**JORDAN**: And that innovation strategy is fascinating. They're making what Van de Put called "bigger and fewer bets." Instead of throwing everything at the wall, they're focusing on four key areas: well-being products with protein and fiber, premium chocolate, the Biscoff partnership, and cakes and pastries through acquisitions and brand extensions.

**ALEX**: Now, here's where it gets interesting from a financial perspective. CFO Luca Zaramella said they're ahead of expectations in Q1, but they're maintaining their EPS guidance for 2026. Why? Because they're facing unexpected headwinds from the Middle East situation - extra costs for alternative supply routes, higher oil prices affecting some regulated markets.

**JORDAN**: Right, and this is where management's capital allocation philosophy really shows. Zaramella was pretty clear - if they do see EPS upside materializing, they're going to invest it back into the business rather than just dropping it to the bottom line. They're playing the long game here, especially with their commitment to "strong 2027 EPS growth."

**ALEX**: Let's talk about Europe for a moment, because this was a real bright spot. They completed most of their retail negotiations ahead of Easter, saw market share gains, and had what Van de Put called a "very robust Easter season." The Biscoff partnership is performing particularly well in Australia and New Zealand too.

**JORDAN**: And the competitive dynamics in Europe around chocolate pricing seem to have stabilized. Remember, there were big concerns about cocoa price volatility and how that might trigger a pricing war. But Van de Put said customer negotiations went well, and they're not seeing any major price movements right now. The industry seems to be waiting to see what the main crop brings.

**ALEX**: The U.S. market is more challenging though. Van de Put was pretty candid about consumer confidence remaining low, with expectations it c

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