Santander AI Gains Total €194M; Novartis Sees 10% Q3 Income Rise

Several companies are starting to report financial benefits from investments in artificial intelligence (AI) during the latest earnings season. Corporate AI investment is projected to reach $581.7 billion in 2025, an increase of 130% from the previous year, according to the Stanford HAI 2026 AI Index report. Major tech firms Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta plan to invest $700 billion combined this year on AI infrastructure.

Spanish bank Santander reported AI initiatives generated 194 million euros ($216 million) in business value in the first nine months of 2026. Santander's Chief Financial Officer José García Cantera attributed AI to helping reduce low-value tasks and improve service quality, positively affecting both revenue and costs in the recent quarter. Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis disclosed a 10% year-on-year increase in third-quarter core operating income to $6.04 billion at constant currencies. CEO Vas Narasimhan said AI is starting to tangibly improve the company's profit and loss, particularly through enhancements in research and development productivity and marketing and sales performance.

Standard Chartered also highlighted AI's presence across its business, reporting 14% growth in third-quarter operating income excluding notable items. CFO Manus Costello noted AI's role in driving better customer relationships and improving operating leverage. For investors, these concrete AI-related gains demonstrate how tech spending is translating into measurable financial performance, especially with companies quantifying AI's impact on revenue and costs.