Economic Impact of Enterprise AI
Artificial intelligence has not improved the bottom line for major corporations outside of the technology sector, according to a recent analysis by the chief economist at Apollo Global Management.
Torsten Slok of Apollo analyzed the S&P 493—excluding top tech giants such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—and concluded that profit margins and revenue per worker remain flat, showing no clear evidence of productivity improvements.
Despite substantial investments and considerable hype surrounding artificial intelligence, the technology has generated no meaningful financial return for corporate entities outside the tech industry.
Limitations in Business Judgment
When addressing whether non-tech firms are simply lagging behind industry leaders, Slok expressed skepticism regarding the ability of traditional businesses to convert inexpensive intelligence into higher revenue growth and stronger profit margins.
While artificial intelligence functions well as a computational tool, business operations rely heavily on human judgment, accountability, trust, culture, and ethical trade-offs—factors that ultimately drive revenue growth and manage risk.
Additional recent studies support these findings, indicating that widespread adoption of artificial intelligence has yet to yield measurable productivity gains across the broader economy.
