Apollo Global Management says AI has yet to yield financial returns outside tech

On October 26, 2026, Business Insider reported that private equity firm Apollo Global Management had argued that only technology companies were seeing real growth from the AI boom, and that outside the tech sector AI had yet to deliver any meaningful financial return. Later that same day, TechCrunch provided the underlying analysis from Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok, published in a recent note. Slok examined what he calls the S&P 493: the S&P 500 minus Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla. In his view, profit margins and revenue per worker for those remaining companies appear flat, and there is no evidence that AI has lifted productivity. The note, as quoted by TechCrunch, stated that despite massive investment and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology had delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech, pushing back on market expectations that AI would quickly translate into earnings. Slok also argued that AI excels at calculation, while business decisions depend more on judgment, accountability and trust, which is why traditional companies have not yet seen profit improvement from AI. For now, the claim rests on the Apollo Global Management report itself, with no detailed rebuttal from company representatives or regulators, and the dispute remains open.