Many technology companies have been spending heavily on AI in recent years, but a new report from Fidelity suggests financial advisors are increasingly looking for evidence that those investments are translating into strong financial results.
Fidelity said Thursday in a release that it conducts regular webcasts with financial advisors during which polls are conducted with participants. On July 21, several questions were asked of between 318 and 449 participants.
Forty-two per cent said they believed the value of some AI-related companies had become too high compared to what those companies are expected to deliver financially and 27 per cent said the adoption of AI spending plans was taking longer than initially thought.
“To date, much of the excitement around AI has been driven by investment and expectations for what the technology could deliver,” said Chris Pepper, Fidelity’s vice-president of corporate affairs, in a release.
“Now, advisors are increasingly focused on what companies are actually showing in their results. They’re looking for evidence that AI is driving growth, adoption and business outcomes as they guide clients through the next phase of the story.”
Companies such as AI chip maker Nvidia have seen their stock valuations soar as investors rush to buy shares, betting that AI adoption will drive significant future growth. That strong demand for shares of Nvidia helped propel it to become the world’s most valuable company by market cap — as of publication — in just a few years.
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But investors are increasingly questioning whether those multi-billion-dollar spending plans will generate significant profits that justify the scale of investment, and concerns have been echoing of an “AI bubble” at risk of bursting amid the rapid growth in the technology space.
That tension was highlighted earlier this week when the price for shares of SpaceX sank after the rocket and technology company reported its first-ever quarterly earnings.
The company’s shares fell about 10 per cent to US$113 at the opening of trading on Wednesday, dropping well below their $135 IPO price in less than two months since the company’s blockbuster debut.
SpaceX reported AI revenue that more than tripled from a year earlier and disclosed several new cloud computing agreements, even as quarterly capital spending on AI climbed to $15.8 billion.
Fidelity also asked during its webcast what financial advisors plan to be watching most closely as more of these technology companies show their earnings results in the coming weeks.
Out of 449 responses to this question, 42 per cent said they were going to focus most on AI-driven revenue growth, followed by corporate guidance at 21 per cent and capital expenditures, or spending, at 18 per cent.
Fidelity says one advisor participating in the webcast summarized what many clients are now looking for: “Clients want to see real proof points — measurable revenue growth, improving profitability, widespread adoption and evidence that AI investments are creating durable competitive advantages.”
Although financial advisors may be losing patience when it comes to seeing strong business results from AI spending and adoption, Fidelity says 84 per cent of respondents believe AI remains attractive and is still in the early stages of its growth cycle.
Forty-three per cent said they believe companies adopting AI to improve productivity will drive the most long-term value for investing in AI.
“What we’re seeing through the research is that advisors remain optimistic about AI’s long-term potential for clients,” said Pepper.
“At the same time, they’re embracing the technology to improve their own businesses.”
– with a file from Reuters
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