Key Points
- Morgan Stanley’s (Mogen Shanli 摩根士丹利) AI Adopter Survey confirms that AI investments are yielding tangible returns and exploding adoption across various sectors.
- The financial sector is leading with significant AI-related returns since early 2025, and high adoption rates, for instance, insurance companies jumped from 48% to 71%.
- Consumer goods companies have drastically increased their AI focus (from 20% to 44%) primarily for supply chain optimization.
- The real estate sector is also seeing a quiet AI revolution, with 32% of REITs increasing AI engagement and an estimated 37% of jobs potentially automatable in the sector for efficiency gains.
- Companies that have adopted AI are significantly outperforming those that haven’t, demonstrating a clear link between AI adoption and profitability and positive earnings revisions.
Ever wonder if the insane hype around AI is actually translating into real-world profits?
Since ChatGPT kicked off this new gold rush, founders, investors, and execs have all been asking the same question: Are these massive investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) just a “wisdom tax,” or are they actually paying off?
A fresh report from Morgan Stanley (Mogen Shanli 摩根士丹利) drops a bombshell: The answer is a hard yes.
Their latest AI Adopter Survey shows that AI adoption is exploding, and for some, the returns are already rolling in.
Let’s break down where the money is being made.
Finance Leads the Charge: AI Delivers Tangible Returns
The financial sector isn’t just dipping its toes in the water; it’s diving in headfirst and seeing tangible AI-related returns since early 2025.
The numbers don’t lie. Since January 2025, AI adoption has skyrocketed:
- Insurance Companies: adoption jumped from 48% to a whopping 71%.
- Financial Services Firms: adoption climbed from 66% to 73%.
Morgan Stanley’s analysts put it bluntly in their July 2025 report:
“In our specialized survey of 400 companies applying GenAI (Generative AI) to their products, financial companies demonstrated the most low-cost opportunities across both cost and revenue.”
How are they doing it? By smartly investing in AI to automate customer service and seriously beef up their risk and compliance protocols. It’s about working smarter, not just harder.
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The Surprise Players: Real Estate & Consumer Sectors Go Big on AI
While finance might be the obvious frontrunner, the report highlights two other sectors making massive strides in AI application: real estate and consumer goods.
Consumer Goods: AI-Powered Supply Chain Domination
The consumer world is getting a massive AI-fueled upgrade.
- Nearly 30% of durable consumer goods and apparel companies have significantly boosted their focus on AI.
- This pushed the overall proportion of AI adopters in the category from just 20% to an impressive 44%.
A huge piece of this is supply chain optimization. Think about giants like Target and Walmart (Wo’erme 沃尔玛) using AI to master inventory management—getting the right products to the right place at the right time, every time.
Real Estate: Automating for Massive Efficiency Gains
The real estate industry, often seen as traditional, is quietly undergoing an AI revolution.
- 32% of real estate investment trusts (REITs) are now way more engaged with AI tech than they were back in January.
- Total Jobs: 525,000
- Estimated Percentage Automatable: 37%
- Estimated Number of Potentially Automatable Jobs: 194,250
According to Ron Kamdem, Morgan Stanley’s Head of US REIT and Commercial Real Estate Research, the potential is staggering.
He estimates that around 37% of the 525,000 jobs in the public REIT and commercial real estate services sectors could be automated.
The biggest wins are coming from automating tasks in:
- Leasing services
- Property management
- Risk management
- Broker and service department workflows
This is all about using AI to drive new levels of efficiency.
The Bottom Line: AI Adoption Is Directly Tied to Profitability
Here’s the killer insight from Morgan Stanley.
When you look at earnings revisions, companies that are all-in on AI are significantly outperforming those sitting on the sidelines.
As the analysts noted, “There are clear indications that AI plays a very important role in businesses—this can be seen in relative price performance and earnings revisions.”
The future looks even more divided.
The gap between the AI haves and have-nots is only going to get wider.
AI adopters with strong pricing power are leading the market rally with better and better earnings reports. Meanwhile, companies being disrupted by AI are seeing their numbers go in the wrong direction.
The data is clear: implementing a smart AI strategy is no longer optional for businesses seeking real AI investment ROI.
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