Morgan Stanley said US companies integrating artificial intelligence are poised for stronger profit margins, projecting about 100 basis points of net-margin expansion through 2027 tied to adoption.
The bank’s team led by Michael Wilson said margin expectations are "improving most clearly" for firms where AI is central to the investment case and pricing power is neutral to strong, making the technology a differentiator across multiple sectors.
Wilson’s note flagged beneficiaries such as Halliburton Co., Bank of America, CVS Health and NextEra Energy Inc. while also noting that early AI winners including Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Nvidia Corp. continue to screen strongly.
Morgan Stanley pointed to market signals supporting the claim, saying a BofA basket of AI adopters has outperformed the hyperscalers, that about 40% of AI adopters this earnings season cited at least one quantifiable benefit versus 21% a year earlier, and that companies reported a net productivity increase of nearly 10% on average.
"The outlook for AI adopters is becoming increasingly compelling," Wilson wrote.
