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Ay Ay Ay

Number of S&P 500 companies mentioning AI hits record

Companies of all kinds are finding ways to talk about AI on earnings calls.

5/28/24 1:09PM

AI AI AI — it’s all big companies can talk about these days. About 40% of S&P 500 discussed AI on their earnings calls this past quarter — up from 1% five years ago, according to data from FactSet.

That’s no surprise as on Wall Street right now, AI = money. Companies “pursuing or enabling” AI technology have outperformed the equal weight S&P 500 by nearly 20 percentage points this year, according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs. What’s doing even better? Energy companies, which are riding high off of AI’s immense energy needs.

Mentions were most common among information tech, communication services, and energy companies, according to Goldman. But it’s certainly not isolated to those industries. Companies of all kinds are getting into the AI mix, including consumer discretionary, financial, industrial, and real estate.

“Companies primarily cite AI as an efficiency gain rather than a revenue driver,” according to a note from Morgan Stanley. "Early beneficiaries from an efficiency standpoint are primarily in Software and Internet though the future opportunity spans a wide range of industries.” So even if AI is not a direct part of their business, companies want to use it internally to be more productive.

That means pretty much every other major company is leaning into AI. Facebook belabored how the metaverse is actually AI. Chip maker Nvidia discussed the many ways AI’s helping them mint money. Walmart mentioned how AI is improving product searches and letting people exit Sam’s Club without waiting in line to get their receipts checked. Yum! Brands apparently has “more than 40 AI initiatives in progress across the company,” including voice AI at Taco Bell drive-thrus.

Nia Warfield15h

Amazon doubles down on groceries with new private-label collection, sending grocery stocks lower

Amazon on Wednesday launched Amazon Grocery, a new private-label food brand that combines its Fresh and Happy Belly lines into one collection.

The label covers more than 1,000 staples, from milk and eggs to olive oil and fresh meat, with most items priced under $5. Shares of Amazon were little changed, but grocery-selling rivals Target, Walmart, and Kroger all slipped around 2% following the announcement. Costco also slipped about 1%.

The launch highlights Amazon’s growing push into both grocery and private-label essentials as more customers trade down to cut costs. In August, the e-commerce giant added perishable groceries to same-day delivery in 1,000 cities and towns across the country.

At the same time, Amazon said shoppers purchased 15% more private-brand products in 2024 compared to the previous year across Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon Fresh.

Max Knoblauch15h

Ford sales climb for 7th straight month as EVs hit a quarterly record on tax credit expiration

September marked another banner month for Ford’s electric vehicle business, with EV sales climbing 85% from the same month last year to more than 11,700 units.

For the third quarter as a whole, Ford’s electrified unit sales grew nearly 20%. That’s the division’s best Q3 on record, boosted by the looming end of the $7,500 federal tax credit on Tuesday. Ford, with rival GM, has found some ways to extend that credit in the hopes of keeping sales stable.

Overall, Ford sales rose 8.2% on the quarter, and September was the automaker’s seventh straight month of sales gains. Ford sales have been buoyed this year by panic buying: first from fears of tariff price hikes (and Ford’s strong incentives), and lately from the EV credit expiration.

Tom Jones

WENDY’S TENDYS

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Have chicken strips become the fast-food panic button of 2025?

McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and now Wendy’s have all added variations on the theme this year.

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DUAL CLASS

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Co-CEOs are back in Corporate America — and Wall Street isn’t sure what to make of it

Dual leadership has boosted shareholder returns historically, though evidence on operations is thin.

Two businessmen fighting for the managing position (holding rudder conflicting with each other)

Max Knoblauch9/30/25

Some automakers are working accounting magic to extend the EV tax credit beyond today’s deadline

The $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire after today, September 30. Logically, electric vehicle sales are expected to fall off afterward.

But some automakers, including Ford, GM, and luxury EV maker Lucid, have found ways to effectively extend the credit for some customers.

According to reporting by Reuters, Ford and GM have initiated plans to dealers that would have the automakers themselves put down payments on EVs currently in inventory at dealerships. Those down payments would qualify for the expiring tax credit, and dealers would be able to extend the subsidy to future customers through discounted lease rates.

Reuters reports that the programs were launched following discussions between the automakers and the IRS.

In August, Lucid announced that the company would honor the $7,500 tax credit through the end of the year for lessees who order its Gravity SUV by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Exclusive: Ford, GM launch programs to extend use of $7,500 EV lease credit