Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving the tape.
Alphabet reported a staggering one hundred twelve billion dollars in annual profit, but the headline number comes with an asterisk. A significant portion of that record result was driven by an unrealized gain on the company's investment in SpaceX, meaning the core advertising and cloud business, while strong, didn't do all the heavy lifting investors might assume.
Shifting to healthcare, GRAIL announced the FDA's advisory committee will meet on September twenty-third, two thousand twenty six to review its Galleri multi-cancer early detection test. This is a pivotal regulatory milestone for a blood-based screening tool designed to catch multiple cancers early, and the panel's recommendation will carry serious weight for both the company and the broader diagnostics sector.
And on the corporate benefits front, Bank of America is spending upward of two hundred fifty million dollars annually covering GLP-one weight loss drugs for its employees. CEO Brian Moynihan says the returns in workforce health and productivity justify the cost, and with nearly a third of workers surveyed saying they'd change jobs for GLP-one coverage, this is fast becoming a competitive talent issue, not just a line item.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
