Gains in AI company stakes juice second-quarter earnings for S&P 500

S&P 500 companies are winding up a banner quarterly earnings season, fueled in large part by surging profits at AI-related companies. The S&P 500 is on track for a 52% surge in aggregate second-quarter earnings from ‌the year before, helped by a 74% profit jump in the technology sector. The figures include big mark-to-market boosts at Alphabet and Amazon, ‌both of which recognized large gains in the period on investments in AI highfliers such as Anthropic.