Apollo economist warns AI profits are funded by investors, not customers

MacroIndustry Impact 4
โดย Fortune·GLOBAL·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Apollo Chief Economist Torsten Slok warns that the AI boom's profits are currently being funded by investors rather than earned from customers, creating a lopsided profit structure that threatens the industry's stability. Slok broke down AI companies into four categories and found that silicon and equipment, such as chipmakers, have the highest profit margin at 41%, while models and applications, like Anthropic, have a negative 59% operating margin. He notes that the most profitable part of the AI value chain depends on the least profitable part continuing to raise capital, and if AI financing slows, the disparity could topple the rapidly expanding industry. Goldman Sachs projects AI investments will surpass $1 trillion in 2026, but so far there has been no significant change in economic productivity or profit margin growth outside of the Magnificent Seven. The Bank of International Settlements and Bank of America have also highlighted that hyperscaler AI spending is outpacing earnings, with the five major hyperscalers issuing $121 billion in debt in 2025, four times their previous five-year average.

Impact on stocks 5

Artificial Intelligence▼ · 5 stocks
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA
▼ NegativeDemandrelevance

AI profits funded by investors, not customers, threatens chipmaker demand

Amazon.com Inc
AMZN
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

Hyperscaler AI spending outpacing earnings, debt issuance high

Theme Impact 7

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