AI Spending Falls Short of Earnings Gains for Most US Companies
US companies are investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), but according to Goldman Sachs, the financial benefits have yet to materialize.
In the second quarter of this year, earnings for hyperscalers and AI infrastructure companies increased by a significant 54% compared to last year, accounting for nearly half of the S&P 500's overall growth. However, most industries have not seen substantial financial gains from their AI spending.
The median monthly AI spend per employee rose from $5 at the start of the year to $12 in July, with only a small fraction of companies experiencing productivity boosts in areas like coding or customer support. Specifically, just 11% of S&P 500 companies noticed these improvements, and an even smaller percentage - 2% - could directly link them to higher earnings.
AI inference expenses currently account for less than 0.5% of S&P 500 revenues and are mainly derived from repurposing existing budgets rather than generating new income. Nevertheless, analysts believe that greater benefits may emerge as more businesses learn how to effectively utilize AI technology.