The key facts

  • Torsten Slok of Apollo: for the 'S&P 493' (the index without the seven tech giants), profit margins and revenue per employee remain flat
  • According to him, AI 'does not understand accountability, trust, culture' and other factors that affect revenue
  • Other studies have also found no significant productivity gains from AI

Zero returns outside the tech sector

Artificial intelligence has not yet improved the financial performance of large corporations outside the technology industry, according to a recent note by Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, which TechCrunch highlighted. Slok analyzed the so-called S&P 493 — the S&P 500 index excluding Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. According to his data, profit margins and revenue per employee at these companies remain flat, and there are no signs that AI is boosting productivity. 'Despite massive investment and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered no financial return to corporate America outside the tech sector,' the publication quotes Slok as saying.

Skepticism about the laggards

Slok, as reported by TechCrunch, dismisses with skepticism the objection that oil companies and other non-tech corporations are simply lagging behind the tech giants: in his view, it will be difficult for corporate America to 'turn increasingly cheap intelligence into higher revenue growth and margins.' 'AI may be a great calculator, but in business, intelligence is primarily about judgment,' he wrote, adding that AI 'does not understand accountability, trust, culture, unwritten rules, ethical trade-offs, or fairness', and it is precisely these factors that shape reputational risks and ultimately determine revenue growth and margins. TechCrunch also notes that other recent studies have likewise found no significant productivity gains from AI.

Why it matters

Slok's conclusion affects investors and the management of thousands of companies that have invested in AI: if the data is correct, expectations of a quick payback on these expenditures are not yet supported by the financial reporting of non-tech corporations in the S&P 493. In practical terms, this means that decisions on further AI investment will likely require stricter evidence of returns, and the debate over the technology's real productivity will remain open until new data emerges. At the same time, the conclusions are based on a single economist's note, and the publication does not cite any independent corporate reports confirming or refuting it.