Viewpoint: AI Has Yet to Deliver Returns for US Companies Outside the Tech Industry

Odaily reports: Torsten Slok, Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management, stated that despite companies investing enormous sums in artificial intelligence, AI has yet to deliver any real returns for US companies outside the tech industry. Slok wrote: "Revenue per employee is rising at the Magnificent 7 tech giants, but this metric has remained flat for the other 493 companies in the S&P 500." Corporate profit margins show the same pattern, and there are currently no signs that AI is driving productivity growth.

Slok said: "Mainstream US companies are pulling back on spending and beginning to view AI token consumption expenditure as a cost center rather than a growth source, because these expenses are squeezing profit margins." As earnings season gets underway, investors are closely watching corporate AI spending and whether related investments can deliver the expected returns. Last week, Meta was the first to announce developments related to tech industry earnings, stating that it plans to bet more aggressively on AI and increase its capital expenditure plans. The statement sparked market unease, causing Meta's stock price to fall and its credit risk indicator to hit an all-time high.