S&P 500 earnings calls citing 'AI'

Final full-season count for the Q2 2026 reporting period (calls conducted June 15 through September 14, 2026), by John Butters. "FactSet searched for the term 'AI' in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from June 15 through September 14." "Overall, the term 'AI' was cited on 331 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." "This number reflects 67% (331 out of 493) of the earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." "This number is well above the 5-year average of 178 and the 10-year average of 114." "This marks the 3rd consecutive quarter that the term 'AI' was cited on more than 65% of the earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies." Sector leaders by count: Information Technology (72) and Financials (67); by share: Information Technology (97%), Financials (91%), Communication Services (90%).

It rose quickly in 2023, plateaued in 2024, and then accelerated again in 2025, reaching roughly 15% of productivity sentences by the end of that year.

Final full-season count for the Q1 2026 reporting period (calls conducted March 15 through June 11, 2026), by John Butters. "Overall, the term 'AI' was cited on 337 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." "This number also reflects 68% (337 out of 498) of the earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." "This number is well above the 5-year average of 164 and the 10-year average of 103." Supersedes the May 8 in-season update (65%, taken at 89% reported), which was an interim rather than a final.

FactSet S&P 500 Q1 2026 earnings-season update (published May 8, 2026 with 89% of S&P 500 having reported actual Q1 results). AI citations: 'about 65% of S&P 500 earnings calls have cited the term AI so far,' slightly below the prior quarter's 68% (which was the highest percentage going back at least five years). AI remains substantially elevated vs historical levels. Overall Q1 2026 earnings performance: 84% of reporting companies beat EPS estimates; aggregate earnings 18.2% above estimates. Co-trending terms: 'Middle East' and 'oil' both at 5-year highs alongside AI.

AI-as-augmentation out-mentions AI-as-substitution on earnings calls by ~8:1. Software Development jobs (both by count, and a percent of the overall job market) have been increasing since the beginning of 2025. The aggregate effects of AI on employment are "basically null" per recent academic research, with some evidence of reallocation between jobs and tasks.

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from December 15 through March 11. Overall, the term “AI” was cited on 331 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." "This number also reflects 68% (331 out of 485) of the earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period."

the share of firms mentioning Generative AI rose substantially from less than 5% before ChatGPT's release to 27% in the first quarter after the release

AI was the most-cited topic in S&P 500 earnings calls in 2025. Companies mentioning AI in workforce context outperformed peers by 8.2 percentage points on average.

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from September 15 through December 4. Overall, the term “AI” was cited on 306 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." (306 ÷ 500 ≈ 61%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from June 15 through September 5. Overall, the term “AI” was cited on 287 earnings calls conducted by S&P 500 companies during this period." (287 ÷ 500 ≈ 57%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from March 15 through June 4. Of these companies, 210 cited the term “AI” during their earnings calls for the first quarter." (210 ÷ 500 = 42%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from December 15 through March 14. Of these companies, 241 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the fourth quarter." (241 ÷ 500 ≈ 48%)

As we approach Transformative AI, there is urgent need to advance understanding of how it reshapes economic models, institutions, and policies. Proposes nine Grand Challenges including economic growth, income distribution, and transition dynamics.

Companies that mention AI + workforce on calls have average headcount growth 3.2pp lower than non-mentioners. The correlation has strengthened each quarter.

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from June 15 through September 13. Of these companies, 210 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the second quarter." (210 ÷ 500 = 42%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from March 15 through May 23. Of these companies, 199 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the first quarter." (199 ÷ 500 ≈ 40%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from December 15 through March 14. Of these companies, 179 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the fourth quarter." (179 ÷ 500 ≈ 36%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from September 15 through November 30. Of these companies, 152 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the third quarter. This number is 16% below the number of S&P 500 companies that cited “AI” on earnings calls for Q2 2023 (180)." (152 ÷ 500 ≈ 30%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from June 15 through September 7. Of these companies, 177 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the second quarter." (177 ÷ 500 ≈ 35%)

"FactSet searched for the term “AI” in the conference call transcripts of all the S&P 500 companies that conducted earnings conference calls from March 15 through May 25. Of these companies, 110 cited the term “AI” during their earnings call for the first quarter." (110 ÷ 500 ≈ 22%)