US Corporate AI Spending Accelerates, But Earnings Impact Remains Limited
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by US companies is accelerating, but its impact on earnings remains limited for now. According to a Goldman Sachs report, enterprise AI spending is rising sharply, with monthly AI spending per employee at the median company increasing to USD 12 in July from USD 5 at the start of the year.
The report analyzed S&P 500 companies' Q2 2026 earnings and found that AI infrastructure firms are already benefiting significantly, while the broader corporate sector has yet to see a material earnings boost. Earnings growth among hyperscalers and AI infrastructure companies rose 54 per cent year-on-year, accounting for around half of the S&P 500's earnings growth during the quarter.
However, the direct earnings impact of AI adoption among US companies remains narrow, with only 11 per cent of S&P 500 companies quantifying AI productivity gains for a specific use case, such as coding or customer support. Companies that quantified such gains did not record a statistically significant difference in earnings growth compared with their peers.