Trending tickers: Alphabet, Apple, Heinz, Salesforce and Ashtead

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)

Shares in Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) surged by over 5% in pre-market trading after a US federal judge stopped short of ordering the break-up of the tech giant’s Chrome browser or Android mobile platform.

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The decision by Judge Amit Mehta follows his earlier ruling that Google violated antitrust laws by maintaining a monopoly in online search. However, the remedies imposed were far less severe than markets had feared.

Mehta rejected the US Department of Justice’s request to force Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) to divest its Chrome business. Nor will the company be compelled to sell off Android, the mobile operating system that powers the majority of the world’s smartphones.

Judge Mehta’s ruling “doesn’t seem to be as draconian as the market was expecting,” said Melissa Otto, head of TMT Research, at S&P Global Visible Alpha.

Read more: How to tell if you should invest your money

Still, the judgment imposes constraints. Google will now be required to share certain search data with rivals and will be prohibited from striking exclusive contracts to maintain its search engine’s dominance.

"Today's decision recognises how much the industry has changed through the advent of AI, which is giving people so many more ways to find information," Google said in a statement after the ruling.

"This underlines what we've been saying since this case was filed in 2020: Competition is intense and people can easily choose the services they want," the statement added.

Apple (AAPL)

Apple shares rose more than 3% in extended trading Tuesday following the federal judge's decision that Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) may continue making payments to preload Google Search onto the iPhone.

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Although Apple (AAPL) was not a defendant in the antitrust case, its multi-billion-dollar arrangement with Google to keep it as the default search engine in Safari came under scrutiny.

“Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners for preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote.

“Cutting off payments from Google almost certainly will impose substantial—in some cases, crippling—downstream harms to distribution partners, related markets, and consumers, which counsels against a broad payment ban,” Mehta said.

Kraft Heinz (KHC)

Shares in Kraft Heinz (KHC) were down by 7% ahead of the US opening bell after Warren Buffett said he is disappointed in the split that unwinds much of the merger he masterminded a decade ago.

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With a 27.5% stake in the company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) is Kraft Heinz’s (KHC) largest shareholder.

“It certainly didn’t turn out to be a brilliant idea to put them together, but I don’t think taking them apart will fix it,” Buffett told CNBC.

Buffett's company holds a 27.5% stake in Kraft Heinz (KHC) and was instrumental in orchestrating the merger. He said the decision to split the company into consumer and foodservice units signals a reactive rather than strategic approach. “You don’t fix a mistake by making another one,” he added.

Greg Abel, who will take reins at Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) from Buffett at the end of the year, expressed disappointment to Kraft Heinz (KHC), according to Buffett.

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Kraft Heinz's (KHC) decision to split its business into separate consumer and foodservice units reflects mounting pressure to unlock shareholder value and improve operational focus.

Such a move, it believes, could help streamline management, reduce complexity, and allow each segment to pursue tailored growth strategies.

By separating its brands and distribution channels, Kraft Heinz (KHC) hopes to become more agile and responsive.

Salesforce (CRM)

Salesforce (CRM) has cut 4,000 of its customer support roles, CEO Marc Benioff said while discussing how artificial intelligence has helped reduce the company headcount.

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Benioff revealed the layoffs during an interview published on The Logan Bartlett Show podcast.

"I was able to rebalance my headcount on my support,” Benioff said. “I’ve reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000 because I need less heads.”

AI has not only reduced headcount but also allowed Salesforce (CRM) to redeploy resources. “I can now put those heads into sales,” he said. “Now, I’m also making sure that I have much more efficiency and productivity in my lead generation.”

Benioff said AI agents now perform about 50% of Salesforce's (CRM) service tasks. “We’re doing more than 10,000 leads a week right now, having conversations turning them into pipeline. Our pipelines have never been more full.”

Reflecting on the transformation, he added: “If we were having this conversation a year ago… there would be 9,000 people… managing, creating, reading, updating, deleting data. Now it’s a different system. These conversations have now bifurcated — 50% are with agents, 50% are with humans.”

Ashtead (AHT.L)

Ashtead, the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) industrial equipment hire group which makes most of its revenue in America, has reported that pre-tax profits fell 6% in the first quarter to $512m (£158m).

The group, which generates nearly all its earnings from the US through its Sunbelt Rentals division, said it remains on track to shift its primary listing to New York in March 2026. The move, first announced in December, reflects the board’s view that the US is its “natural long-term listing venue.”

Net profit fell to $375.5m from $403.5m, after nonrecurring costs associated with the move of the primary listing to the U.S., it said.

Revenue was up 2% to $2.8bn, while free cash flow jumped to $514m from $161m.

“The group delivered solid first quarter results with revenues, profits and free cash flow in line with our expectations,” chief executive Brendan Horgan said.

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