AI Has Delivered Zero Payoff Outside Big Tech, Apollo's Top Economist Says
Apollo Global Management chief economist Torsten Slok published a note on October 24, 2026, with a blunt verdict on the AI boom: outside the tech giants, it has not paid off yet. “Despite massive investments and widespread hype around artificial intelligence, the technology has delivered zero financial payoff to corporate America outside of tech,” Slok wrote. His framing turns the usual AI debate upside down. Instead of asking whether the companies building AI can keep growing, he asks whether the hundreds of companies buying AI are getting anything back. ...