Apollo economist says AI gains remain elusive outside tech

Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok says artificial intelligence has yet to produce measurable financial gains for most companies outside the technology sector, despite substantial investment. His analysis compared revenue per worker and profit margins at the S&P 500’s 493 companies outside the Magnificent Seven with those of the seven technology giants. Slok said both measures were flat among the 493 companies, while revenue per worker and profit margins rose among Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. He said the figures showed no clear evidence that AI was boosting productivity across the broader group. The conclusion is Slok’s interpretation of the company-level measures; the reports do not establish that AI caused the trends. Slok also said some businesses were treating spending on AI tokens, the units used to measure model activity, as a cost rather than a source of growth. Some companies outside technology were reducing AI budgets, he said. If spending rises without corresponding gains in revenue, productivity or operating costs, it can weigh on margins, according to his analysis. The economics of token use may help explain the...