Some big companies say AI is finally showing up in profits

After a long run of big promises, some large companies are now putting numbers on what AI has done for them. Santander, the Spanish bank, says AI created 194 million euros ($216 million) in business value in the first nine months of 2026. The CEO of Novartis said this is the first quarter AI clearly helped its profit and loss.

What changed

Companies have poured money into AI. The Stanford HAI 2026 AI Index report puts corporate AI investment at $581.7 billion in 2025, up 130% from the year before. Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta are expected to spend a combined $700 billion this year on the infrastructure behind it. Investors want to see returns. Third-quarter earnings season is the first time several firms have tried to show them.

What companies are reporting

• Santander: AI helps cut low-value tasks so staff can focus on higher-value work, affecting both revenue and costs.
• Novartis: core operating income of $6.04 billion, up 10%, with gains seen in marketing and sales.
• Standard Chartered: operating income up 14%, helped by AI tools that improve core processes and customer relationships.
• Meta: AI investments delivered substantial incremental advertising revenue, with total revenue up 26%.

Google Cloud, which sells computing power and tools to other businesses, saw revenue more than double to nearly $31 billion in the third quarter. Google Search revenue growth slowed amid concerns about AI competition.

What is still unclear

Most of the numbers are not clean proof. Novartis did not say how much of its profit came from AI. Santander's finance chief said AI is built into so many bank processes that it is hard to say how much comes from AI alone. Carlsberg's CEO said the brewer is not seeing AI benefits at scale yet, though AI has touched its internal processes, cost efficiency, pricing, marketing and supply chain. Its revenue grew 4.9%.

What it means for a business

The early wins described here are in routine tasks, sales and customer work. Santander points to less time on low-value tasks. Novartis points to marketing and sales. Standard Chartered points to better customer relationships. For a smaller company, those are sensible places to test AI first, ideally with a clear way to measure whether it helped.

What happens next

Investors will keep asking for proof as spending continues. Expect more companies to try to attach figures to AI in coming earnings reports, and expect some, like Carlsberg, to say the real gains are still ahead.