Morgan Stanley says corporate investment in artificial intelligence is beginning to pay off, with early adopters now pulling ahead in terms of earnings performance and market returns.
In its latest AI Adopter Survey, the bank found that AI integration is accelerating across key sectors — particularly financials, real estate, and consumer durables.
The shift is not just cosmetic: companies actively using AI are outperforming in terms of earnings revisions and stock price momentum.
Within financial services, adoption is rising rapidly.
- The share of insurance firms using AI jumped from 48% to 71% since January 2025, while broader financial services adoption grew to 73%.
- These firms are deploying AI to streamline customer service and enhance compliance systems — areas seen as ripe for gains across both revenue and cost efficiencies.
The consumer sector is also seeing meaningful uptake.
- In the durables and apparel space, AI adoption surged from 20% to 44%, driven largely by supply chain optimisation — with major retailers like Walmart and Target using AI to manage inventory more effectively.
In real estate,
- 32% of REITs are now more exposed to AI compared to the start of the year.
- Automation is driving productivity gains across leasing, property management, and particularly in brokerage and services, where a large portion of tasks can be automated.
According to the bank analysts, companies where AI is becoming a material part of the business are enjoying stronger earnings revisions and relative outperformance. The divergence between AI leaders and laggards is widening — and Morgan Stanley expects that trend to continue.
One of Morgan Stanley’s graphs from its note.
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
