Barclays Says $800 Billion AI Spend Has Yet to Lift Productivity as Meta Targets $145 Billion
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 11
Barclays Says $800 Billion AI Spend Has Yet to Lift Productivity as Meta Targets $145 Billion
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 11
Summary
$800 billion in annual AI spending across major U.S. tech companies has not yet produced measurable economy-wide productivity gains, Barclays senior economist Jonathan Millar said in a CNBC interview.
Millar said capex alone does not create output gains because firms still need organizational change, worker reskilling and broader industry restructuring before AI infrastructure becomes productive.
BEA data shows the Information sector grew 1.5% in Q1 2026, down from 2.5% in Q4 2025, while faster AI adopters still do not appear to be posting stronger growth.
Meta illustrates the strain: it narrowed 2026 capex guidance to $130 billion-$145 billion, while Q2 free cash flow fell 91.31% to $784 million and long-term debt rose to $83.66 billion.
Millar compared the pattern to the 1980s IT boom, when heavy investment lifted markets and spending long before productivity data improved more than a decade later.