Apollo Chief Economist: No Bottom-Line Benefit Beyond Tech Giants
Artificial intelligence has yet to boost the bottom line of any major corporations outside the tech industry, according to a recent note published by the chief economist at Apollo Global Management—the private equity giant that once owned TechCrunch.
The 'S&P 493' Test
Apollo's Torsten Slok focuses on what he calls the "S&P 493": the S&P 500 minus Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. His analysis finds that profit margins and revenue per worker appear flat across these companies, with no evidence that AI is improving productivity.
"Despite massive investments and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech," Slok said.
Is It Just a Lag?
One might argue that non-tech companies are simply lagging behind the tech giants. Slok is skeptical. He contends it will be difficult for corporate America to "turn increasingly cheap intelligence into higher revenue growth and higher profit margins."
"AI may be a great calculator, but in business, intelligence is mostly judgment," he wrote, adding: "AI does not understand accountability, trust, culture, unwritten rules, ethical trade-offs or fairness, all of which shape reputational risk and ultimately drive revenue growth and profit margins."
Mounting Evidence of a Productivity Gap
Slok's assessment arrives amid growing skepticism about AI's near-term returns. Recent studies have similarly found that AI has yet to deliver significant productivity gains, and as of 2026, early signs of burnout are emerging among the very workers who embrace AI most enthusiastically—suggesting that adoption intensity does not automatically translate into measurable output.
For enterprise leaders weighing further AI investment, the message is pointed: enthusiasm and deployment spending are not the same as demonstrated financial return.
via TechCrunch AI