AI Boom Enriches Big Tech While the Rest of Corporate America Sees ‘Zero Payoff’

A new analysis from Apollo Global Management’s chief economist Torsten Slok argues that, so far, the AI revolution is paying off financially for only a tiny slice of the U.S. stock market. Outside the so‑called “Magnificent Seven” mega‑cap tech firms, the other 493 companies in the S&P 500 have seen virtually no boost to revenue per employee or profit margins attributable to AI, Slok writes.

According to the report, spending on AI chips, cloud services and emerging AI agents—which can carry out multi‑step tasks across corporate systems—is pushing technology bills higher without delivering clear productivity gains. Integrating these tools safely requires additional investment in security, compliance and governance, further eroding any near‑term return.

The findings highlight a widening gap between the companies building AI infrastructure and models, and the broader corporate world that is simply a customer of those tools. For now, AI looks more like a cost center than a profit engine for most firms. That puts pressure on executives, in the U.S. and abroad, to move beyond small pilots and marketing demos and articulate credible, measurable paths from AI experimentation to durable business value.