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AI delivers zero financial payoff to most companies, Apollo economist says

1 reports1 sources10/25/2026 updated

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Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok argues that AI has delivered zero financial payoff to most companies, citing data showing no meaningful improvement in profit margins or revenue per employee for S&P 493 non-tech firms. Slok contends that converting increasingly cheap intelligence into revenue growth and higher profit margins is extremely challenging, as AI lacks the critical business elements of accountability, culture, and ethics.

Written with AI from the reporting · updated 10/25/2026

Latest developmentOct 26, 00:57
Apollo economist says AI delivers zero financial payoff to non-tech companies
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  1. 1Unclassified fact stationOct 25, 00:00recorded Oct 26, 01:05single sourcerevised

    AI delivers zero financial payoff to most companies

    Read original source ↗ TechCrunch · AIReplay this moment in the explorer
    Evidence & revisions · 1 source records
    Subject：
    Torsten Slok
    Action：
    published a note analyzing S&P 493 profit margins and revenue per worker
    Object：
    S&P 493 companies outside tech industry
    Occurred (fact side)：
    Oct 25, 00:00
    TechCrunch · AI ↗Report pageRevision 2 · currently revised
    Published (valid side)：
    Oct 26, 00:57
    First seen (known side)：
    Oct 26, 01:05
    Fact stationSingle source · one-sided claimRevised

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Oct 26
  1. TechCrunch · AIRelated fact: single sourceSource report revised
    Apollo economist says AI delivers zero financial payoff to non-tech companies

    Report first recorded Oct 26, 01:05

    According to Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok, AI has not improved profit margins or revenue per worker for the S&P 493 index, which excludes the seven largest tech companies. Despite massive investments and widespread hype, Slok argues that corporate America has yet to turn cheap intelligence into higher revenue growth or profit margins, noting AI's inability to grasp judgment, accountability, and cultural factors that drive business value.

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