Artificial intelligence has yet to deliver measurable financial benefits to major US companies outside the technology sector, despite substantial corporate investment, according to a report by Apollo Global Management. The firm’s chief economist, Torsten Slok, found that revenue per employee and profit margins have remained largely unchanged among most S&P 500 companies, with no clear evidence of AI-driven productivity improvements.
In an October 24 research note, Slok examined the performance of the S&P 493, a group that excludes the seven largest technology-focused companies known as the Magnificent Seven. These companies are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.
AI Financial Gains Remain Concentrated Among Technology Giants
According to Apollo Global Management, revenue per employee has increased among the Magnificent Seven but remained flat across the other 493 companies in the S&P 500. Profit margins have followed a similar pattern, rising among major technology companies while showing little improvement across the remaining businesses.
Slok’s analysis also found no measurable increase in overall productivity growth attributable to AI adoption. His findings suggest that the financial benefits associated with AI investment have so far been concentrated among companies developing and supplying the technology, rather than businesses purchasing and implementing it.
The report draws on data from Bloomberg, Macrobond, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Slok used these indicators to compare corporate financial performance with broader productivity trends.
Businesses Increasingly Question AI Spending
Slok observed that companies outside the technology sector are becoming more cautious about AI expenditure as they struggle to identify measurable financial returns. Some businesses are beginning to treat spending on AI tokens, the units used to process requests through AI models, as an operating expense that pressures profit margins rather than generates additional revenue.
Venture-backed companies, meanwhile, continue to increase their spending on AI tokens, according to the report. Slok argued that many established businesses neither require the latest AI models nor appear willing to pay higher prices for their capabilities.
AI Productivity Gains Face Challenges Beyond Technology
Slok also questioned whether increasingly affordable AI systems could translate into higher revenue growth and improved profitability. He argued that business decisions depend on human judgment and organizational context, which AI systems cannot fully replicate.
His analysis identified accountability, trust, workplace culture, ethical considerations and fairness as factors influencing business decisions and reputational risk. These considerations, Slok argued, remain important in determining whether AI adoption can produce meaningful financial improvements.
The findings align with other recent research suggesting that AI adoption has not yet produced significant productivity gains across businesses. Slok maintained that measurable improvements in revenue and profit margins among the S&P 493 would be necessary to demonstrate financial returns beyond the largest technology companies.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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