CEOs of the world’s biggest companies are preparing to invest even more money in AI next year, despite growing evidence that their existing investments aren’t really paying off.
wall street journal Citing an annual survey of more than 350 public-company CEOs conducted by consulting firm Teneo, Today reported that 68% of CEOs plan to increase AI spending in 2026. Surprisingly, the same executives admitted that less than half of their current AI projects have generated returns greater than their initial costs. The survey focused on CEOs of public companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue and was conducted this fall.
The survey findings come as fears of an AI bubble grow. AI investments now account for about 40% of US GDP growth in 2025, and AI companies account for about 80% of US stock market gains. Despite the US economy becoming increasingly dependent on AI, there is surprisingly little to show for it so far, even on a small scale in non-AI corporations.
Wall Street analysts have increasingly focused on the cyclical nature of major AI investments. For example, Nvidia announced this year that it was investing $100 million in OpenAI, which it later turned to and buying Nvidia chips for data centers planned with Oracle. To make matters worse, implementation of those data centers has been slow. There are reports that Oracle is delaying some of its data center projects, raising concerns on Wall Street as they delay any concrete payments in the future. Meanwhile, AI companies continue to promise that more advanced models will lead to significant productivity gains, spur innovation and perhaps even help cure diseases.
Non-AI companies have begun testing the technology, introducing AI tools into various departments, including customer service, IT, marketing, and human resources. But there’s still little evidence that even in those places, AI tools are transforming operations or even meaningfully improving profits.
Today’s survey echoes a report released by MIT in August. The report found that despite a big push for AI adoption in the corporate world, less than one in ten AI pilot programs have generated real revenue gains. The MIT analysis is drawn from 150 executive interviews, 350 employee surveys, and a review of 300 public AI deployments.
“Just 5% of integrated AI pilots are generating millions in value, while the vast majority are stuck without any measurable [profit and loss] impact,” the report said. This means that “95 percent of organizations are getting zero returns.”
The findings briefly unsettled investors and sent AI shares tumbling at the time.
And yet, CEOs are still confident that AI will eventually justify the spending spree. According to Teneo’s survey, 84% of leaders at companies with annual revenues over $10 billion believe it will take more than six months for AI investments to start paying off.
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