Tim Cook the GOAT? Snowflake earnings preview, the software comeback, reactions to Ed Zitron

September 1, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

A quiet, unassuming former COO who spent his early career counting widgets in Asia has presided over a 2,700% total return for shareholders, added $287 billion in market cap per year, and navigated the geopolitical tightrope between Washington and Beijing better than any tech CEO alive. That is the case Josh Brown made for Tim Cook as the greatest public company CEO of all time during this episode of The Compound and Friends—but the conversation ranged well beyond Apple, covering Snowflake's upcoming earnings, the software sector's comeback, and the fallout from a combative interview with AI bear Ed Zitron.

The Snowflake Earnings Preview: AI Inflection or One-Hit Wonder?

Josh Brown owns Snowflake and previewed its earnings report with unusual granularity. The stock had already rallied 164% from its April low, driven largely by the previous quarter's blowout: a 38% single-day surge after the company reported that over 9,000 corporate customers were using agentic workflows directly inside Snowflake's data lake. The key question for the upcoming print was whether that AI inflection was sustainable or a one-off.

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of The Compound and Friends

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (00:14) **Show Open & Housekeeping** - Josh and Michael debut the new studio, banter about away messages and ringtones, and thank the live chat.
2 (03:29) **After-Hours Earnings Flash: MongoDB and Dell** - Immediate reactions to MongoDB's drop (-13%) and Dell's surge (+12%) on their earnings reports.
3 (05:56) **Snowflake Earnings Preview: The AI Layer Cake** - Josh explains why Snowflake is a critical AI play and previews the upcoming earnings report.
4 (07:39) **Snowflake vs. Databricks: Architecture Battle** - A deep dive into the competitive dynamic between the two data giants.
5 (10:21) **Snowflake's Stock Story & Key Metrics** - The technical setup and the bull/bear arguments for the stock.
6 (13:43) **What to Watch on the Snowflake Call** - The specific storylines and product catalysts for the upcoming report.
7 (16:46) **Broadcom & Nvidia Context** - Brief mentions of other major tech earnings and the AI infrastructure trade.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Josh Brown Michael Batnick

Show Notes

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Downtown Josh Brown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Michael Batnick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for another episode of What Are Your Thoughts and see what they have to say about: Snowflake ahead of earnings and what the report could tell us about AI demand and the future of software. They also look back at Tim Cook’s incredible run at Apple, debate whether software stocks are really dead, discuss the sudden momentum crash hitting Wall Street, Clear Secure, and much more.

This episode is sponsored by Betterment Advisor Solutions. Learn more at ⁠Betterment.com/advisors⁠

Please take our 2026 audience survey ⁠HERE⁠.

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/thecompoundnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/thecompoundnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-compound-media/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thecompoundnews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Investing involves the risk of loss. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be or regarded as personalized investment advice or relied upon for investment decisions. Michael Batnick and Josh Brown are employees of Ritholtz Wealth Management and may maintain positions in the securities discussed in this video. All opinions expressed by them are solely their own opinion and do not reflect the opinion of Ritholtz Wealth Management.

The Compound Media, Incorporated, an affiliate of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ritholtz Wealth Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠