Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — midday briefing. This update separates results already released from events still ahead. All calendar times below are Pacific Daylight Time. This is selected economic and company coverage, not a complete earnings calendar or a live-price feed.

Today: what employers pay beyond the paycheck

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June 2026 Employer Costs for Employee Compensation report today at 7:00 a.m. PDT. For private-industry workers, total compensation averaged $46.89 per hour worked: $32.82 in wages and salaries and $14.07 in benefits. Benefits represented 30.0% of employer compensation costs. These are employer costs, not the hourly cash wage received by a typical individual worker. Read the BLS release.

Why look at the split? A business pays for more than wages: benefits also affect its cost of employing people. The report helps explain that cost structure. It describes June, however, not hiring conditions this morning, and its average should not be mistaken for a particular occupation's pay. It is not a substitute for the monthly jobs report or a forecast of the Federal Reserve's next decision.

Same-day earnings: Chewy reports; Casey's follows yesterday's release

Chewy (NYSE: CHWY), an online retailer of pet products and services, released fiscal second-quarter results today. Sales were $3.33 billion, up 7.3% year over year; the company reported 5.7% growth excluding contributions from SmartPak and Modern Animal. Net income was $80.5 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.20. Its earnings call was scheduled for 5:00 a.m. PDT. Read Chewy's earnings release furnished to the SEC.

The useful distinction is between overall sales growth and growth excluding those contributions. They answer different questions about the business. Also keep GAAP earnings separate from the adjusted measures in the release: the company supplies reconciliations, and adjusted profit is not interchangeable with net income. These figures do not establish whether the shares are attractively priced or predict their next move.

Casey's (Nasdaq: CASY), a convenience-store operator, released results on September 8 and scheduled its discussion for today at 5:30 a.m. PDT. It reported diluted quarterly earnings of $7.37 per share, inside same-store sales growth of 3.2%, and a 0.3% decline in same-store fuel gallons. That contrast matters: sales inside a store, fuel volume and profit per gallon measure different parts of operations. The release is yesterday's news; today's call is not a second earnings release. Read Casey's results and call details.

Dividend note: distinguish the dates

In that same release, Casey's reported a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable November 13, 2026, to shareholders of record November 1, 2026. Those are the issuer's stated payment and record dates; this briefing does not establish an ex-dividend date or purchase-eligibility deadline. A dividend declaration is not a promise of an investment return. Check the issuer and your broker's official corporate-action information before relying on eligibility dates.

Next: producer prices, oil inventories and consumer inflation

  • Thursday, September 10, 5:30 a.m. PDT: August Producer Price Index. PPI measures changes in prices domestic producers receive. It is a different perspective from consumer inflation; one report does not mechanically determine the other.
  • Thursday, September 10, 9:00 a.m. PDT: the EIA's holiday-adjusted Weekly Petroleum Status Report, for the week ended September 4. The Labor Day schedule moves this report to Thursday. Inventory figures offer context on petroleum balances, but a single stock change does not by itself identify the cause or predict an oil-price response. Verify the EIA schedule.
  • Friday, September 11, 5:30 a.m. PDT: August Consumer Price Index and Real Earnings. CPI tracks consumer-price changes. Read the reporting period and monthly versus annual comparison carefully rather than treating every inflation percentage as the same measure. BLS September calendar.

The Fed event is next week, not today

The Federal Reserve calendar lists the next two-day FOMC meeting for September 15–16, with the September 16 meeting announcement at 11:00 a.m. PDT and press conference at 11:30 a.m. PDT. The calendar does not establish what policymakers will decide. This week's inflation releases provide information ahead of that meeting, not a guaranteed policy outcome. Official Federal Reserve calendar.

Photo: New York Stock Exchange facade by david hou, via Pexels. Illustrative archive image, not a photograph of today's session. Used under the Pexels license; no endorsement implied.

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