Blog
Insights, analysis, and updates from the AI agent economy. Browse by tag.
Circle Q1 2026: $694M in Revenue, and Most of It Never Stays
Circle's Q1 2026 revenue was $694.1M (+20% YoY) with USDC in circulation at $77.0B, but $405.4M — 58.4% — went to distribution partners, leaving an RLDC margin of 41%. Reserve income is 94% of revenue, so the top line tracks short-term interest rates. Rebuilding Circle's books in a public Beancount ledger also shows FY2025 was a net-loss year (−$70M), driven by a one-time $503.4M IPO compensation charge in Q2.
Canada GST/HST for Cross-Border Sellers: The CA$30,000 Worldwide Threshold
Canada's GST/HST small-supplier exemption is based on worldwide taxable sales, not Canadian-only revenue, so a US seller with zero Canadian sales can already owe registration once global sales pass CA$30,000 in a quarter or over four trailing quarters.
California SB 648: The Credit Card Tip-Skimming Law Taking Effect January 2026
California's SB 648 takes effect January 1, 2026, giving the Labor Commissioner direct authority to fine employers $250 to $1,000 per violation for deducting credit card processing fees from employee tips, a practice already banned under Labor Code Section 351.
C-PACE Financing for Commercial Property Energy Upgrades: Rates, Terms, and the Lender Consent Catch
C-PACE financing lets commercial property owners fund HVAC, solar, and resiliency upgrades with 100% financing repaid through the property tax bill at 5.5%-9.5% fixed rates over 20-30 years, though the senior-lien structure requires existing mortgage lender consent, which is the most common closing bottleneck.
Buying Machinery at Auction: Cost Basis, Use Tax, and 100% Bonus Depreciation
A $150,000 CNC lathe bought at auction and fully expensed under 100% bonus depreciation can generate roughly $37,500 in first-year tax savings at a 25% effective tax rate, but only if the buyer's premium, sales/use tax, and rigging costs are correctly capitalized into cost basis first.
Broadcom FY2025 Earnings: $63.9B in Revenue, and a Net Income That Nearly Quadrupled to $23.1B
Broadcom's FY2025: $63.9B revenue (+23.9%) and GAAP net income of $23.1B, up 292% from $5.9B — but decomposing the $17.2B swing shows revenue growth explains only 72% of it, with roughly $4.8B coming from a tax provision flipping to a $397M benefit plus one-time restructuring and discontinued-operations reversals. The durable signals are Infrastructure Software's operating margin rebounding to 76.8%, above its pre-VMware baseline, and AI semiconductor revenue guided to roughly double to $8.2B. Rebuilt line by line in a public Beancount ledger, FY2021–FY2025.
Boat Rental Bookkeeping: Boatsetter, GetMyBoat, and the Schedule C/Schedule E Split
Boatsetter and GetMyBoat report gross transaction volume on Form 1099-K, not your net payout, so record the full charter price as revenue and the platform commission as a separate expense — and track bareboat versus captained bookings separately, since adding a captain shifts income from Schedule E to Schedule C self-employment tax.
Fingerprint Time Clocks and Biometric Privacy Law: What a Small Business Needs to Know Before Installing One
Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act requires a written policy, notice, and signed consent before any fingerprint, palm-vein, or facial-recognition time clock scans an employee, with damages of $1,000–$5,000 per violation and similar consent rules now spreading to Texas, Washington, and roughly twenty other states.
Billiards and Pool Hall Bookkeeping: Table Time, League Revenue, and Bar Margin
Pool halls run three distinct revenue streams with different margins and accounting treatment, and league or tournament fees collected in advance are deferred revenue, not income, until the season is actually played.
Apple's Best March Quarter Ever: $111.2B Revenue, a New $100B Buyback, and Retained Earnings Turn Positive Again
Apple's Q2 FY2026 revenue reached $111.2 billion (+17% YoY) with expanding margins across every geographic segment, and a new $100 billion buyback authorization pushed retained earnings positive for the first time since fiscal 2021. Full income statement and balance sheet, FY2021-Q2 FY2026, in a public Beancount ledger.
Amazon FY2025 Earnings: A Record $77.7B Profit — and AWS Now Generates 57% of It
Amazon's FY2025: $716.9B net sales (+12.4%) and a record $77.7B net income (+31.1%) — but operating income grew only 16.6%, with a $15.2B non-operating equity gain accounting for $7.0B after tax. AWS grew 19.7% to $128.7B and produced 57% of company operating income on 18% of revenue, while PP&E jumped $104.4B in a single year. Modeled line by line in a public Beancount ledger.
Alphabet Q1 2026: Google Cloud Grows 63%, and a $37.7B Paper Gain Drives the EPS Beat
Alphabet's Q1 2026 revenue was $109.9B (+21.8% YoY) with Google Cloud accelerating to 63% growth and backlog above $460B, but the 82% jump in diluted EPS to $5.11 rests largely on a $37.7B other-income line — mostly unrealized marks on non-marketable equity securities. Backing out the $36.9B equity-securities gain leaves EPS near $2.76, roughly flat against last year's $2.81. Rebuilding the FY2022–Q1 2026 books in a public Beancount ledger shows exactly where the gain landed — non-marketable securities rose from $68.7B to $106.9B, not cash.