US corporate AI spending accelerates, but earnings impact remains limited: Report

US companies are rapidly increasing their investment in artificial intelligence, yet the tangible effects on corporate earnings remain minimal for now. A report by Goldman Sachs highlights that while firms specializing in AI infrastructure are already reaping substantial rewards, the wider business sector is only beginning to witness measurable productivity improvements.

“

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on US corporate earnings is expected to become more visible in the coming quarters as companies accelerate enterprise AI spending, although measurable productivity gains remain at an early stage.

The analysis of S&P 500 companies' second-quarter 2026 earnings revealed that growth in this sector is tracking at 31 percent year-on-year. Companies benefiting from AI infrastructure and capital expenditure saw their earnings rise by 54 percent, contributing about half of the overall S&P 500 earnings growth. Meanwhile, earnings growth in the rest of the market, excluding energy, remained robust at 14 percent year-on-year.

However, the direct earnings impact of AI adoption across the broader US corporate landscape is narrow. Only 11 percent of S&P 500 companies have quantified AI productivity gains for specific tasks like coding or customer support, and a mere 2 percent have quantified AI's impact on their earnings. Crucially, those companies that did quantify these gains did not show a statistically significant difference in earnings growth compared to their peers.

“

AI infrastructure firms are already benefiting significantly, while the broader corporate sector has yet to see a material earnings boost.

Despite the limited immediate earnings boost, enterprise AI spending is surging. Monthly spending per employee at the median company climbed to $12 in July from $5 at the beginning of the year. The top 10 percent of AI spenders increased their expenditure from $240 to $650 per employee. Currently, AI inference expenses constitute less than 0.5 percent of S&P 500 revenues, suggesting the immediate cost burden is manageable. Approximately two-thirds of companies are funding this AI investment by reallocating funds from existing software and labor budgets.

“

Companies that quantified such gains did not record a statistically significant difference in earnings growth compared with their peers.

Goldman Sachs anticipates that as US companies transition from experimentation to wider AI deployment, the productivity benefits will become more evident in their earnings reports. For the time being, investors continue to favor AI infrastructure companies due to the more immediate and visible earnings impact, while the long-term beneficiaries of AI-driven productivity remain less certain.

“

Monthly AI spending per employee at the median company increased to USD 12 in July from USD 5 at the start of the year.