Apollo finds artificial intelligence investments have yielded no financial gains outside big tech

Artificial intelligence has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of a handful of tech giants, according to research from investment firm Apollo Global Management. Torsten Slok, Apollo's chief economist, evaluated the rest of the benchmark index—the "S&P 493," excluding Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla—and discovered that both revenue per worker and profit margins remain flat, showing no measurable productivity improvements despite millions of dollars spent. [1][2]

Slok expressed skepticism that non-tech businesses will easily turn cheaper automated intelligence into sustained margin growth or higher revenues. He emphasized that commercial intelligence fundamentally requires judgment, arguing that artificial intelligence cannot navigate unwritten rules, accountability, trust, culture, or ethical trade-offs, all of which directly affect corporate reputational risk and financial returns. [2]