Beta Finch - S&P 100 - EN

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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 complex financial reports into clear conversations. I'm Alex.

**JORDAN:** And I'm Jordan. Today we're diving into Blackstone's Q4 2025 earnings – and wow, what a quarter this was for the private equity giant.

**ALEX:** 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:** Absolutely. Now Alex, let's talk about these numbers because Blackstone just delivered what they're calling their best results in their 40-year history.

**ALEX:** The headline number that caught my eye – distributable earnings of $1.75 per share for the quarter, capping off a record year where DE increased 20% to $5.57 per share. That's $7.1 billion in distributable earnings for the full year. But Jordan, what really stood out to you?

**JORDAN:** The sheer scale of capital flows. They pulled in $71 billion in inflows just in Q4 – that's the highest level in three and a half years. For the full year, we're talking about $240 billion in fundraising. To put that in perspective, their assets under management hit nearly $1.3 trillion, up 13% year over year.

**ALEX:** That's an almost incomprehensible amount of money. And CEO Jonathan Gray made an interesting point about their market position – according to analyst research, Blackstone has an estimated 50% share of all private wealth revenue across major alternative firms.

**JORDAN:** Which brings us to one of their biggest success stories – the private wealth channel. Their fundraising there jumped 53% year over year to $43 billion. But what's driving this?

**ALEX:** Performance, performance, performance. Their BCRED product – that's their private credit offering for individual investors – delivered 10% net returns annually since inception five years ago. Their private equity flagship BXP has generated 17% annualized returns since launching just two years ago.

**JORDAN:** Let's talk about the elephant in the room though – real estate. This has been a challenging sector, but there are some interesting developments. While real estate values only appreciated about 1.5% for the full year, they're seeing positive signs.

**ALEX:** Right, construction starts have fallen to their lowest level in over 12 years in both logistics and multifamily – their two largest real estate sectors. Less supply typically means better pricing power down the road.

**JORDAN:** And they're not just sitting on the sidelines. They've deployed over $50 billion in real estate since what they call the "cycle trough" two years ago, including a Q4 commitment to privatize Alexander and Baldwin.

**ALEX:** Now let's talk about what might be the most exciting part of this call – the deal environment is finally opening up. Jonathan Gray compared it to 2013-2014, saying it feels like markets are coming out of hibernation.

**JORDAN:** The Medline IPO was a perfect example. This was a $7.2 billion IPO – the largest since 2021 and the largest sponsor-backed IPO in history. Shares popped over 40% on the first day. Gray mentioned they have "one of the largest IPO pipelines in our history."

**ALEX:** What did you make of their commentary on artificial intelligence? They seem to be positioning this as a generational investment opportunity.

**JORDAN:** It's fascinating how they're approaching it on multiple levels. They're investing in the infrastructure – data centers, power generation, the electric grid. But they're also implementing AI across their 270+ portfolio companies. CFO Michael Chae mentioned seeing real productivity gains in software engineering and cyber monitorin

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. Today we're diving into Boston Scientific's second quarter 2026 results — and Jordan, this one's got some real drama in it.

JORDAN: It really does. Before we jump in, quick disclaimer for everyone listening: 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: Right, so let's set the scene. Boston Scientific actually beat expectations in Q2 — organic sales grew 7%, ahead of their 5-7% guide, and adjusted EPS came in at 86 cents, up 15% year-over-year and above the high end of guidance.

JORDAN: On paper, that sounds like a great quarter. But here's the twist — right after touting the beat, management turned around and cut full-year guidance. Full-year organic revenue guidance moved down to 5-6%, and full-year EPS guidance came in at $3.28 to $3.32.

ALEX: And the culprit? Two of their hottest businesses over the last couple years — WATCHMAN and electrophysiology, or EP.

JORDAN: Let's start with WATCHMAN, the left atrial appendage closure device. This is a fascinating case of clinical evidence essentially colliding with commercial momentum. New studies — OCEAN, CHAMPION-AF — have been published over the past several months, and they're changing how doctors think about referring patients for the procedure.

ALEX: CEO Mike Mahoney was pretty candid about it. He said the U.S. market has "slowed sharply and unexpectedly." Standalone WATCHMAN procedures — meaning not done alongside another heart procedure — are actually declining in the low teens percentage-wise.

JORDAN: The one bright spot is "concomitant" procedures — done at the same time as another cardiac procedure — which grew over 60%. But even that's expected to slow in the second half because of tougher comparisons.

ALEX: So full-year WATCHMAN growth guidance is now flat to low single digits, with the second half actually expected to decline mid-to-high single digits. That's a big swing from where this business has been.

JORDAN: Then there's EP, the electrophysiology business built around their FARAPULSE technology — that's the pulsed field ablation, or PFA, platform for treating atrial fibrillation. Management admitted they simply underestimated competitive pressure in the U.S.

ALEX: Which is almost ironic, because Boston Scientific basically created this PFA market boom. Mahoney noted PFA now makes up something like 80% of the U.S. AFib ablation market — a shift that happened faster than anyone expected, and that success invited competitors in quicker than the company modeled.

JORDAN: Meanwhile, international EP growth is still humming along around 20%. It's really a U.S.-specific share story, not a "the technology doesn't work" story.

ALEX: Here's something I found reassuring, though. Management pointed out that roughly 75% of Boston Scientific's revenue — everything outside WATCHMAN and EP — is still expected to grow about 6% in the second half, which is right in line with their historical trend.

JORDAN: Right, and there were genuinely strong pockets. Neuromodulation grew 12%. Interventional cardiology grew 15%. Interventional oncology grew 12%. This isn't a company falling apart — it's two specific franchises hitting an air pocket.

ALEX: Let's talk strategy, because they also announced a restructuring program targeting about $500 million in run-rate savings by the end of 2029, with more than half of that realized by exiting 2027.

JORDAN: That's a real signal — they're bracing for a tougher stretch and want to fund future growth catalysts without blowing up margins. CFO Jon Monson said savings will show up first in SG&A, then in cost of goods sold over time.

ALEX: And on th

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! I'm Alex.

JORDAN: And I'm Jordan. Today we're diving into Boston Scientific's fourth quarter and full year 2025 results - and wow, what a year it's been for this medical device giant.

ALEX: 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: Absolutely. So Alex, Boston Scientific just wrapped up what CEO Mike Mahoney called an "outstanding" year. Let's start with the headline numbers - they're pretty impressive.

ALEX: They really are. For the full year, Boston Scientific hit over $20 billion in sales - that's 19% operational growth and nearly 16% organic growth. They actually exceeded their guidance of around 15.5%. And on the bottom line? Adjusted earnings per share of $3.06, up 22% year-over-year.

JORDAN: That's their third consecutive year of 20%+ EPS growth, which is remarkable consistency in this industry. But what I found interesting was the fourth quarter specifically - 13% organic growth, which hit the high end of their guidance range. The question is, what's driving all this growth?

ALEX: Two words: EP and WATCHMAN. Their electrophysiology business grew 35% in Q4 and a staggering 73% for the full year. That's largely driven by their FARAPULSE technology - basically a next-generation treatment for atrial fibrillation that uses pulsed field ablation instead of traditional methods.

JORDAN: And WATCHMAN, their left atrial appendage closure device, grew 29% in the quarter. Mike Mahoney mentioned they've now treated more than 25,000 patients with what they call "concomitant procedures" - essentially doing WATCHMAN and EP procedures together, which is more efficient for hospitals.

ALEX: But here's where it gets really interesting - and where some investors got a bit nervous during the earnings call. There were questions about whether growth is slowing, especially in the U.S. EP market. Some analysts were expecting even higher numbers.

JORDAN: Right, and Mahoney pushed back on this pretty hard. He said competitors are claiming the EP market grew 25% in Q4, but Boston Scientific thinks it was more like 18-20%. And even at that growth rate, they're significantly outpacing competitors - some major players only grew 6.5% and 12.5% respectively.

ALEX: That's a crucial point for investors. Market share dynamics are shifting as competitors launch their own PFA products, but Boston Scientific believes they'll maintain clear market leadership. Mahoney said by year-end 2026, their PFA share might equal all other competitors combined, but they'll still be the leader.

JORDAN: And looking ahead, they're guiding for some pretty solid numbers in 2026. Organic revenue growth of 10-11% for the full year, though Q1 will be softer at 8.5-10% due to some one-time headwinds and tough comparisons.

ALEX: Those headwinds include discontinuing a product called ACURATE and a temporary withdrawal of certain sizes of their AXIOS device due to manufacturing issues. But they expect both situations to resolve by mid-year.

JORDAN: Let's talk about what could be a game-changer - the CHAMPION trial results. This is a major clinical study comparing their WATCHMAN device to blood thinners for stroke prevention. Dr. Ken Stein, their Chief Medical Officer, said results will be presented at the American College of Cardiology conference.

ALEX: If positive, this could be huge. Currently, WATCHMAN is indicated for about 5 million patients globally who can't tolerate blood thinners. But if CHAMPION shows WATCHMAN is as effective as blood thinners with better bleeding outcomes, that addressable market could jump to 20 million p

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! Today we're digging into Bristol Myers Squibb's second quarter 2026 results, reported Thursday morning. Before we get into it, quick 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: And BMY shares were up nearly 2.8% on the news, so investors clearly liked what they heard. Let's get into the numbers.

ALEX: Total revenue for Q2 came in around $13 billion, up 5% year-over-year. The headline story here is what they call the "growth portfolio" — that's their newer drugs — now making up almost 60% of total revenue, growing 14%. Ten different products posted double-digit growth.

JORDAN: That's the story management really wants you to hear — they're successfully transitioning away from legacy products losing patent protection, toward newer assets. And the standouts were impressive: Reblozyl up 29%, Breyanzi up 41%, Camzyos up 59%, and Qvantig — the newer version of their big cancer drug Opdivo — now annualizing over $1 billion.

ALEX: Meanwhile, on the "legacy" side, Eliquis, their blood thinner, actually grew 21% on strong demand, which helped offset declines elsewhere from generic competition, especially as Revlimid keeps facing generics.

JORDAN: Diluted EPS was $2.04 for the quarter, and gross margin held at 71.4%. And because of this strength, management raised full-year guidance for both revenue and adjusted EPS.

ALEX: They also raised their Eliquis growth expectation for the year to 20-25%, and said the overall legacy portfolio decline will be less severe than previously thought — now 4-6% instead of worse.

JORDAN: Balance sheet's solid too — $11.5 billion in cash, $3.4 billion in operating cash flow for the quarter, and they paid down $1.2 billion in debt. So they've got room to keep investing.

ALEX: Now let's talk strategy, because there's a lot happening on the pipeline side. CEO Chris Boerner talked about the company potentially launching more than 10 new medicines by the end of the decade, plus over 30 lifecycle management opportunities.

JORDAN: The near-term catalyst everyone's watching is iberdomide — that's their CELMoD, a new class of oral drug for multiple myeloma. It has an FDA decision date of August 17th, so basically two weeks after this call. If approved, it'd be the first commercialized CELMoD ever.

ALEX: And there's a second one right behind it — mezigdomide — which just got its FDA application accepted with a target decision date of May 2027. Management's pretty bullish these two drugs, along with a third one called golcadomide, could eventually replace older myeloma standards like Revlimid and Pomalyst.

JORDAN: But here's the more nuanced part of the call — two of their biggest pipeline bets just got delayed. Milvexian, a next-generation blood thinner they're developing with Johnson & Johnson... wait, actually it's with partners on the anticoagulant side, competing against their own Eliquis franchise — its atrial fibrillation trial readout got pushed from late 2026 to Q1 2027.

ALEX: And separately, Cobenfy — their schizophrenia drug that they're also testing in Alzheimer's-related psychosis — those readouts are now expected to start in early 2027 instead of this year.

JORDAN: Now, management was pretty insistent both delays are actually good news in disguise. For milvexian, it's an event-driven trial — meaning they need a certain number of stroke and bleeding events to occur before they can read the data. Fewer events happening means the drug might be working better than expected. Chief Medical Officer Cristian Massacesi even pointed out that a competitor's similar trial got stopped early for going the w

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Bristol-Myers Squibb Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex, and joining me as always is Jordan. Today we're diving into Bristol-Myers Squibb's first quarter 2026 results, and there's quite a lot to unpack here.

**JORDAN**: Absolutely, Alex. But before we get started, I want to make sure our listeners know 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 Bristol-Myers Squibb - ticker BMY. This pharmaceutical giant just reported Q1 results, and honestly, they seem to be firing on multiple cylinders right now.

**JORDAN**: The numbers tell a solid story, Alex. Total revenue came in at $11.5 billion, up 1% year-over-year. But here's what's really interesting - their growth portfolio, which includes their newer, more innovative drugs, grew 9% to $6.2 billion. That's nearly half their total revenue now coming from these growth assets.

**ALEX**: That's a massive shift for a company that's been dealing with patent cliffs on older drugs. What stood out to you in terms of specific products driving this growth?

**JORDAN**: Several winners here. Reblozyl grew 15%, Breyanzi - their CAR-T cell therapy - jumped 53%, and Camzyos nearly doubled to $314 million. But the elephant in the room is still Eliquis, their blood thinner, which brought in $4.1 billion and grew 13% despite facing generic competition eventually.

**ALEX**: Let's talk about what CEO Chris Boerner emphasized during the call. He really hammered home three strategic priorities: focusing R&D on life-threatening diseases, executing on their growth portfolio, and maintaining disciplined capital allocation. But Jordan, what caught my attention was all the talk about late 2026 being a make-or-break period for several key programs.

**JORDAN**: Yes, this is crucial, Alex. They have what Boerner called an "increasing cadence of pivotal readouts" coming in late 2026. We're talking about Milvexian for atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention, Cobenfy for Alzheimer's psychosis, and some important cancer drug data. These aren't just incremental updates - these could define the company's growth trajectory for years.

**ALEX**: Let's break down a couple of these. Milvexian is their Factor XI inhibitor, essentially trying to create a blood thinner with less bleeding risk than current options. How big could this be?

**JORDAN**: Potentially massive, Alex. They're testing it against Eliquis - their own blockbuster drug - trying to show it's just as effective but causes less bleeding. Think about it: if you can reduce the main side effect that keeps doctors from prescribing blood thinners, you could expand the treatable patient population significantly. Adam Lenkowsky, their Chief Commercialization Officer, called it having "true blockbuster potential."

**ALEX**: And then there's Cobenfy, which they're testing in Alzheimer's psychosis. This seems like a completely different approach to treating psychiatric symptoms in dementia patients.

**JORDAN**: Right, and this addresses a huge unmet need. Current antipsychotics used in elderly dementia patients carry black box warnings and cause serious side effects like movement disorders and cognitive impairment. Cobenfy works on a completely different mechanism - muscarinic receptors instead of dopamine. If it works, it could be the first approved treatment specifically for Alzheimer's psychosis.

**ALEX**: Now, during the Q&A, there were some really interesting exchanges. One analyst asked about their confidence levels in these trials, and Chief Medical Officer Cristian Massacesi gave pretty det

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**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we decode quarterly reports so you don't have to. I'm Alex, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Jordan. Today we're diving into Bristol Myers Squibb's Q4 2025 earnings call - and let me tell you, this one was packed with updates.

But first, Jordan, I need to get our mandatory disclaimer out of the way. 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 speaking of packed earnings calls, Bristol Myers definitely delivered on that front. Let's start with the headline numbers because they tell quite a story about this company's transformation.

**ALEX**: Absolutely. So Q4 revenue came in flat year-over-year at about $12.5 billion, but here's the key detail that investors need to understand - their growth portfolio, which includes all their newer drugs, grew 15% in the quarter and represented nearly 60% of total revenue. That's a massive shift from where this company was just a few years ago.

**JORDAN**: Right, and for the full year, that growth portfolio grew 17%. What's really impressive is that despite losing roughly $4 billion in revenue from legacy products - we're talking about patent cliffs and generic competition - the growth portfolio almost completely offset those declines. That's the kind of pipeline execution that pharma investors dream about.

**ALEX**: Let's talk about some of those growth drivers. Reblozyl, their blood disorder treatment, crossed $2 billion in annual sales. Breyanzi, their CAR-T cell therapy, grew 47% in Q4. And then you have Camzyos for heart disease growing 57%. These aren't just incremental gains - these are blockbuster-level products hitting their stride.

**JORDAN**: And here's what caught my attention from CEO Christopher Boerner's comments - he emphasized they're entering 2026 with "good momentum." But the real story is what's coming in the pipeline. They're expecting six registrational data readouts in the second half of 2026. That's potentially six new revenue streams or major label expansions.

**ALEX**: Jordan, let's break down that pipeline because it spans multiple therapeutic areas. You've got Milvexian for atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention - that's a massive market where they're trying to compete with their own Eliquis. Then there's admilparent for lung fibrosis, and several multiple myeloma treatments. This isn't just one bet - it's a diversified portfolio of shots on goal.

**JORDAN**: Speaking of Eliquis, that was probably the most complex part of the call. The drug is actually expected to grow 10-15% in 2026, which surprised me given it's facing patent cliffs. But management explained they took a strategic pricing reduction that eliminates certain penalty rebates while expanding patient access.

**ALEX**: That's a fascinating strategy. CFO David Elkins explained that the roughly 40% price reduction actually helps them competitively because it removes inflationary penalties that had been building up over years. It's counterintuitive - lower prices leading to higher growth - but it makes sense when you understand the complex rebate structures in pharma.

**JORDAN**: However, they're also guiding for a $1.5 to $2 billion step-down in Eliquis revenue from 2026 to 2027, primarily due to European patent expiries. So investors are looking at one good year before facing those headwinds.

**ALEX**: Let's talk about their cost management because this is where Bristol Myers is really showing discipline. They delivered $1 billion in cost savings in 2025 and expect another billion over 2026-2027. But here's the smart part - they're reinvesting some of those savings into

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ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. Today we're digging into BlackRock's second quarter 2026 numbers — and Jordan, this was a genuinely loud quarter.

JORDAN: Loud is the right word. Record revenue, record operating income, record EPS, all in the same three months.

ALEX: Before we get into it, a 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: Good, let's get into it. Revenue came in at $7.1 billion, up 31% year-over-year. Operating income jumped 39% to $2.9 billion, and EPS hit $13.91.

ALEX: And the margin story is what jumped out to me. 45.9% operating margin, up 260 basis points from a year ago — that's their best level in almost five years.

JORDAN: Right, and CFO Martin Small was pretty clear that 45.9% isn't a ceiling. He pointed out BlackRock ran near 47% margins back in 2021, before they even had the scale in private markets or systematic equities they have now. So there's an argument the runway keeps going.

ALEX: Let's talk flows, because $192 billion of net inflows in a single quarter is enormous. That's 8% organic base fee growth for the quarter, and over the trailing twelve months they've pulled in $868 billion with 10% organic base fee growth.

JORDAN: iShares ETFs led the way — $178 billion of inflows, with core equity ETFs at $85 billion and index bond ETFs setting a new record at $61 billion. Active ETFs added another $20 billion, and Larry Fink noted BlackRock has gone from the seventh-largest active ETF manager to third-largest in just three years.

ALEX: The other big storyline is the HPS and GIP integration — the private markets acquisitions that closed about a year ago. Fink said the combination is already "delivering above our plans."

JORDAN: The numbers back that up. HPS alone contributed about $230 million in base fees and $115 million in performance fees this quarter. And on the insurance side, Fink talked about converting general account assets — they've got roughly $800 billion of insurance assets on the platform — into higher-yielding private markets allocations. Even a 5-10% conversion rate, he said, would be a meaningful lift to average fees.

ALEX: There was also that data center deal — Aligned Data Centers — described as the largest data center infrastructure transaction ever announced, bringing together their AIP, GIP, and MGX platforms.

JORDAN: That ties into a theme across the whole call: hyperscalers needing balance-sheet partners to build out AI infrastructure, and BlackRock positioning itself as one of the few firms that can show up with both equity and debt capital at scale.

ALEX: Let's hit tokenization for a second, because Martin Small got pretty specific here. They've filed two SEC registration statements for tokenized money market funds — one a tokenized share class on Ethereum, the other a more digitally native version with features like daily dividend reinvestment.

JORDAN: And the framing was interesting — he called tokenized assets "the spear tip into an entirely new distribution channel," pointing to the roughly 5 billion digital wallets globally as a pool of potential new iShares investors. They're also already managing $60 billion in stablecoin reserves for Circle, about a quarter of that market.

ALEX: On the capital return side, they bumped up guidance — now planning at least $550 million in quarterly share buybacks, higher than what they guided back in January. Combined with the dividend, they're expecting to return over $5.7 billion to shareholders this year, a 16% increase over 2025.

JORDAN: One thing worth flagging for listeners: EPS growth of 15% was actually a bit lower than the 39% operating income growth

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: BlackRock Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX**: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive deep into quarterly results so you don't have to. I'm Alex.

**JORDAN**: And I'm Jordan. Today we're breaking down BlackRock's absolutely stellar Q1 2026 results that just dropped this morning.

**ALEX**: 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**: Now, Alex, when you say "stellar," you're not kidding. BlackRock just delivered what CEO Larry Fink called "one of the strongest starts to a year in BlackRock's history." Let's start with the numbers that really matter.

**ALEX**: The headline numbers are impressive across the board. Revenue hit $6.7 billion, up 27% year-over-year. Operating income jumped 31% to $2.7 billion, and earnings per share came in at $12.53, up 11% from last year. But Jordan, what really caught my eye was that margin expansion.

**JORDAN**: Exactly! They expanded margins by over 130 basis points to 44.5%. And get this - they achieved 8% organic base fee growth in the quarter, which marks their seventh consecutive quarter at or above 5%. That's the kind of consistent execution that separates the leaders from the pack.

**ALEX**: The growth engine here seems to be what they're calling "whole portfolio" solutions. Can you explain what that means?

**JORDAN**: It's fascinating, actually. Essentially, clients are moving away from diversifying across multiple asset managers and instead consolidating with fewer strategic partners - sometimes just one. BlackRock is positioned perfectly for this because they can offer everything: public markets, private markets, and technology all on one integrated platform.

**ALEX**: And the numbers back that up. They saw $130 billion in net inflows during the quarter. That's massive! The ETF business alone brought in a record $132 billion in first-quarter flows, with particularly strong demand for international exposures.

**JORDAN**: The international angle is really interesting. When clients rotated toward international exposures this quarter, BlackRock benefited because iShares basically indexes every slice of global markets - from broad benchmarks to emerging markets to what they call "precision single-country allocations." These premium exposures drove double-digit organic base fee growth for ETFs.

**ALEX**: Let's talk about the elephant in the room - private credit. There's been a lot of noise in the market about stress in this sector. How is BlackRock positioned?

**JORDAN**: Larry Fink was pretty direct about this on the call. He said the headlines don't reflect what they're seeing from clients. While there's been some moderation in wealth vehicles like BDCs, institutional demand is actually accelerating. Here's a key stat: about 85% of their Private Financing Solutions investor base is institutional-focused, which gives them more durable capital across market cycles.

**ALEX**: And they're seeing wider spreads as a result of the market uncertainty, right?

**JORDAN**: Exactly. New direct lending is being quoted 25 to 50 basis points wider than Q4, with some opportunities over 100 basis points wider. As Fink put it, "periods of market dislocation are when private credit investment opportunities are most compelling."

**ALEX**: Now, there was one announcement that really grabbed my attention - the Department of Labor's proposed rule about private assets in 401(k) plans. This could be huge for BlackRock.

**JORDAN**: This is potentially transformative. BlackRock has a $600 billion LifePath target date franchise, and they're perfectly positioned if private assets enter t

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**BETA FINCH — Booking Holdings (BKNG) Q2 2026**

ALEX: Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown. I'm Alex.

JORDAN: And I'm Jordan. Today we're digging into Booking Holdings' second quarter 2026 results.

ALEX: 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: Good to have that on record. So, Alex, headline here: Booking beat guidance across the board again.

ALEX: Yeah, and in a genuinely messy environment too. Room nights grew 5%, gross bookings up 9% — or 8% constant currency — revenue up 8%, and adjusted EBITDA hit about $2.6 billion, up 9%. All of that came in above the high end of their own guidance.

JORDAN: The EPS number is the one that jumps out to me — $2.54, up 15% year-over-year. That's growing faster than EBITDA, and a big chunk of that is financial engineering: a 6% reduction in share count from buybacks.

ALEX: Right, and they weren't shy about it — $3.7 billion in repurchases this quarter alone, $7.4 billion for the first half at an average price around $173 a share. Plus they returned $4.1 billion total to shareholders, a record quarter for capital returns.

JORDAN: Now here's the context that matters — this wasn't a clean quarter. CFO Ewout Steenbergen was pretty direct about the Middle East conflict weighing on long-haul international travel, airline capacity, and flight prices. That hit international room nights, which only grew "slightly," versus domestic room nights growing high single digits.

ALEX: And flights specifically decelerated to just 4% growth, rental cars were soft too. But management framed that as almost entirely exogenous — Steenbergen actually said their flights business is outperforming the broader airline industry, which was hurt worse by the same dynamics.

JORDAN: Let's talk regions for a second, because there's a real divergence. Europe grew mid-single digits, Asia mid-single digits domestically hit especially hard by Strait of Hormuz exposure, and the U.S. — high single digit room night growth, which CEO Glenn Fogel was clearly proud of.

ALEX: He called it out multiple times — said the U.S. has been a multi-year investment priority and they're "doing something right." Direct channel growth in the U.S. continues too, which matters because it's cheaper customer acquisition.

JORDAN: Speaking of which, can we talk about the SEO comment? That was one of the more candid moments on the call. An analyst pushed on whether AI Overviews in Google search are pressuring organic traffic, and Fogel basically confirmed it — said the AI overview changes at Google "definitely put some pressure on SEO."

ALEX: But he was quick to add SEO was always a small slice of the business, and their direct booking mix held steady in the mid-60% range. Their read is that people who used to arrive via SEO are just finding them another way — the absolute direct number kept growing.

JORDAN: The AI thread ran through basically the entire Q&A. Multiple analysts asked variations of "is AI actually moving the needle yet?" And the honest answer from management was — not really, not yet, at least not visibly.

ALEX: Steenbergen gave a specific number here that I think listeners should note: traffic coming from large language models, both paid and organic, is still "significantly below 1%" of room nights, and it hasn't moved much in recent quarters.

JORDAN: So despite all the AI-powered discovery rollouts — Booking.com's new inspiration search, Priceline's Penny assistant, Agoda's gallery view — the actual booking impact is still tiny. Management's line was essentially "we're positioned well for whenever this shifts, but it hasn't shifted yet."

ALEX: Where AI

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# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Booking Holdings Q1 2026 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive deep into the numbers that move markets. I'm Alex, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Jordan. Today we're unpacking Booking Holdings' Q1 2026 results - and folks, this one's got some interesting twists.

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:** Thanks Alex. And what a quarter this was for Booking. On the surface, the numbers look solid - revenue up 16% to $5.5 billion, adjusted EBITDA growing 19% to about $1.3 billion. But dig deeper and there's a significant geopolitical shadow hanging over these results.

**ALEX:** Absolutely. The Middle East conflict that started in late February really threw a wrench into what could have been an even stronger quarter. CEO Glenn Fogel estimated it knocked about 2 percentage points off their room night growth. Without that impact, their 6% room night growth would have been closer to 8%.

**JORDAN:** That's a meaningful difference, Alex. And what struck me was how transparent management was about the impact. CFO Ewout Steenbergen broke it down pretty clearly - the Middle East represents about 4% of their global room nights from bookers in the region, but when you include inbound travel, it's about 7% of their total 2025 room nights. So this isn't a small market for them.

**ALEX:** Right, and the ripple effects went beyond just the Middle East itself. They saw impacts on major transit corridors, particularly between Europe and Asia, since places like Dubai are huge connection hubs. March was especially brutal with room night growth of just 1% - half from reduced bookings, half from increased cancellations.

**JORDAN:** But here's what I found encouraging - despite all this disruption, they still beat the high end of their guidance on adjusted EBITDA. And Glenn Fogel's commentary was pretty reassuring about their long-term view. He pointed out they've navigated crises before - 9/11, the financial crisis, COVID, Russia-Ukraine. The fundamental desire for travel doesn't disappear.

**ALEX:** Speaking of things that don't disappear - their capital allocation strategy. Jordan, they returned a record $3.6 billion in share buybacks this quarter alone. Since 2014, they've reduced their share count by over 40% at an average price of $93 per share. That's some serious confidence in their long-term value.

**JORDAN:** It really is. And you know what caught my attention? The U.S. performance. This was their fourth consecutive quarter of acceleration in the U.S., hitting low teens growth in room nights. That's impressive market share gains in what Glenn called a market where they "have room to grow."

**ALEX:** The U.S. story is fascinating because it shows their strategy working. They've been talking for years about investing in the U.S. market - better products, brand awareness, supply relationships. And now we're seeing it pay off with domestic travel driving that growth and their direct channel seeing double-digit growth.

**JORDAN:** And they're not just winning in accommodations. Their "Connected Trip" vision is gaining real traction. Flights were up 28%, attractions up 25%. Connected transactions - where travelers book multiple verticals with them - grew at a high teens rate, about 3x faster than their total transaction growth.

**ALEX:** Let's talk AI for a moment because that was a major theme. Their Priceline AI assistant Penny is showing some promising early results. In limited testing, they're seeing conversion rate improvements from users who engage with Penny versus those

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