Companies promised AI gains— here's how the payoff showed up in earnings — SkimNews
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- Santander generated €194 million ($216 million) in business value from AI initiatives in the first nine months of 2026, with CFO José García Cantera attributing gains to improved employee productivity and service quality.
- Novartis saw AI begin to tangibly improve its profit and loss statement in Q3 2026, with CEO Vas Narasimhan citing productivity gains in marketing and sales and ongoing efforts to boost R&D efficiency.
- Standard Chartered reported 14% operating income growth at constant currency in Q3, with CFO Manus Costello stating AI is driving operating leverage by improving core processes and customer relationships.
- Meta reported a 26% revenue increase for the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2026, attributing part of the growth to 'substantial incremental advertising revenue' from AI investments.
- Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to nearly $31 billion in Q3 2026, even as Google Search revenue growth slowed, signaling a shift in AI-driven monetization within Alphabet.
Why it matters: For the first time, companies across banking and pharma are linking AI to bottom-line results, not just efficiency promises—Santander’s €194M gain and Novartis’ P&L impact show AI is moving beyond infrastructure spend into revenue and cost levers, altering investor expectations for ROI timelines.
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