APOLLO

AI Delivers 'Zero Financial Payoff' to Most Non-Tech Corporations

Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok reports that profit margins and productivity remain flat across the S&P 493 outside major tech giants.

2026-11-01

Despite massive capital expenditures and widespread hype surrounding artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered negligible financial returns to corporate entities outside of the tech sector. According to research published by Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, focusing on the 'S&P 493'—the S&P 500 minus the top seven tech giants—reveals flat profit margins and stagnant revenue per worker with no clear evidence of AI-driven productivity boosts.

While AI functions as a powerful computational engine, Slok argues that business intelligence fundamentally relies on human judgment, accountability, trust, and unwritten cultural norms. Converting increasingly inexpensive machine intelligence into higher profit margins and revenue growth remains a steep hurdle for traditional corporate America.