Good morning, CFOs. How one finance chief is thinking about investor and customer perceptions of AI; a MOU has been signed by the U.S. and Iran, which the Trump administration says will be finalized this week; more layoffs, this time at Robinhood Markets and Rivian; AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches is retiring.

Accounting-software provider Xero is one of many companies in the software industry facing investor worries about the existential threat of artificial intelligence to the company’s long-term viability. The company reported NZ$2.75 billion, equivalent to about $1.6 billion, in revenue for the year ended in March, up 31% from a year earlier, amid rising demand, reports Mark Maurer for today’s newsletter.

“You're having this conversation with investors about a great set of results, they're congratulating you on the results, and then everyone's saying, ‘It's a shame about the share price,’” Chief Financial Officer Claire Bramley said in an interview with the WSJ Leadership Institute.

The Australia-listed, New Zealand-based company’s net profit after tax dropped by 27% to NZ$167.4 million, in part due to its acquisition of bill-pay platform Melio. Meanwhile, the stock has been struggling. Shares are down 62% from a year earlier, as of Tuesday.

Mark talked with Bramley about dealing with both investors’ and customers’ perception of AI. Edited excerpts follow.

What do you do to address investor concerns about AI’s impact on the company’s business?

This is the world that we live in right now, where the valuations and the multiples are not fully reflecting the performance and the results. We see this across many SaaS companies. Although we need to listen to the feedback and respond to the fast-changing technology environment with regards to AI, we also need to ensure that we continue to execute, and we continue to do what we think is the right thing for the business over the medium and long term. It's really important that although we invest in AI and we continue to evolve what we're doing, that we stay true to what is important to our customers, which is accuracy, timeliness, security, compliance. It's really important that those table stakes are protected.

Do you see alignment from investors and your customers in terms of like views and outlook on AI? Are there parallels?

I think they are starting to converge. We have nearly 5 million small-business and accounting and bookkeeping customers. They're primarily at the smaller end of SMB [small and medium-size businesses]. The initial fear was that they were all going to go and vibe code an accounting software, like they were all going to go and do this themselves. At the very beginning, the market and investors were like, “Well, can't people just go and do this themselves?”

And the market is becoming more educated, understanding more how our businesses and customers behave, what we're doing, and where we are.

Does Xero have any plans for a U.S. listing in addition to the Australian Securities Exchange?

We plan to remain this way for the foreseeable future. At some point, if we're big enough and strong enough in the U.S. Some of our Australian peers have looked into dual listings. That’s not something that we're actively looking into right now. We just need to focus on execution and momentum.

—Mark Maurer

📆 Earnings

• CarMax
• Jabil

📈 Economic Indicators

The Census Bureau reports retail and food service sales for May.

The Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary-policy decision. The Fed’s policymaking arm is widely expected to leave the federal-funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%.

The Trump-Iran deal. The U.S. will allow Iran to immediately begin selling oil and fuel under the deal to end the war, offering Tehran an early financial incentive to wind down the conflict, according to a WSJ exclusive. Meanwhile, many conservatives are worried that the peace agreement doesn’t go far enough. Read on below for those details.

• Trump Is Losing the Hawks Who Once Defended the Iran War

Fed meeting today. The central bank is expected to leave rates unchanged at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Kevin Warsh’s first press conference as chair. Treasury yields had their second consecutive decline since the U.S.-Iran peace deal announcement, although details remain unclear.

• Podcast: Warsh Faces First Big Test at Fed

2026 layoffs so far. Robinhood Markets said Tuesday it will slash 10% of its workforce, its first major layoff in three years, in a bid to keep the brokerage firm lean. Here’s our 2026 layoff tracker, showing job cuts are up 66% compared with last year.

• Exclusive: EV Startup Rivian Lays Off Hundreds of Workers

Meanwhile, General Motors is in talks with Lockheed Martin about making parts for the defense contractor’s weapons, according to people familiar with the matter.

Under the arrangement, GM would manufacture commonly used parts that could help Lockheed bolster munitions production, the people said. The companies are discussing which components GM could potentially make, our colleagues Sharon Terlep and Drew FitzGerald report in an exclusive.

📰 Other headlines

• Diners Aren’t as Into Pizza, but Private Equity Is
• SpaceX’s $60 Billion Deal to Buy Cursor Gives It More AI Coding Power
• Elon Musk Is Unleashing SpaceX’s New War Chest to Solve His AI Problem
• The ‘One Size Fits Most’ Retailer Is Shutting Its Changing Rooms
• Exclusive: JPMorgan, Google Records Sought in Probe Into Epstein’s New Mexico Ranch
• The Hacker Sent by Anthropic to Calm the Government’s Nerves About AI Safety
• The AI Boom’s Hunt for Cash Hits a New Corner of the Bond Market
• The Former Drug Dealer Whose Shows Make Millions Without Hollywood

📈 Earnings wrapup

• BMW Cuts Outlook as Middle East War, China Woes Weigh
• CarMax Profit Falls Despite Higher Sales

For more earnings news, click here.

AT&T Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches will retire at the end of this year. Succeeding Desroches will be Jennifer Biry, who was appointed deputy CFO effective July 6 and will step up as CFO upon Desroches’s retirement. Biry previously worked at AT&T beginning in 1999, and served as CFO of then-AT&T subsidiary WarnerMedia between 2020 and 2022. She most recently served as CFO and chief operating officer of the online protection firm McAfee.

Newmont, the Denver-based gold-mining company, unveiled a set of leadership appointments effective July 1, including naming Brian Tabolt chief financial officer. The company also said that Mark Rodgers was named chief operating officer, David Thornton was appointed as chief technical officer, and David Fry will be promoted to executive vice president, project development. Tabolt joined the company in 2021 and most recently served as chief accounting officer and group head, finance.

—Elias Schisgall contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.