It has been more than three years since artificial intelligence (or AI) leapt into the zeitgeist with the public introduction of DALL-E2 and ChatGPT. As AI technology develops, I have been tracking how companies are thinking about and using it.
The latest earnings season for the US stock market – for the fourth quarter of 2025 – has reached its tail end and there were a number of companies that I follow or have a vested interest in, where the management teams discussed the topic of AI and how the technology could impact their industry and businesses.
I shared the latest commentary from US-listed technology companies recently here. For the older commentary from non-technology companies:
- 2025 Q3 – here
Here’s the latest:
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG)
Chipotle is leveraging AI to identify lapsed customers and re-engage with them in a personalised way
We’re leveraging the AI model to really identify those lapsed users and create journeys that get them reengaged with our brand. More importantly is we’re able to parse out deals or offers for consumers based on how often they frequent our brand in the past and what we anticipate their lifetime value to be, which is really a meaningful step change in how we really drive demand in the channel and targeting lapsed and at-risk consumers.
Costco (NASDAQ: COST)
Costco’s management thinks the company’s commitment to provide the best value will make the company a beneficiary in AI-driven commerce; management is working with leading AI companies to ensure Costco products will be visible as consumers engage with AI tools
On our digital sites, we continue to roll out new personalization capabilities, which are resonating well with our members and are starting to have measurable impact on e-commerce sales growth. As consumers embrace AI and their shopping habits, we believe our commitments to providing the best value on great quality items can make Costco a beneficiary of these shifts. We’re working closely with the leading AI companies to ensure our values will be visible to existing and potential future Costco members as they engage with these tools.
JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM)
JPMorgan’s management does not seem to be willing to increase AI spending by much in 2026; management thinks the return on investment (ROI) from AI spending by banks will only be transient, and it will only be customers who benefit
[Question] All right. If I could just — I guess, as you know, for any analysts, it’s trust but verify, right? So if I could just try one follow-up, just what do you think about your tech spending or AI spending for 2026?
[Answer] It’s going to go up a bit. But Mike, we have — we’re building more payment systems. We’re building more AI systems. We’re building more — we’re connecting more branches, which means the higher network expenses. We’re doing all the things you want us to do. But the tech spend is always one of the harder ones to measure and evaluate. That’s been true my whole life. You could imagine we are pretty detailed at what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, are we delivering on time.
But there isn’t an area where you — if you dug into it that you wouldn’t say, yes, you want to be — you got to be the best in the world in tech. So we spend money on trading. We spend money on payments. We spend money on consumer. We spend money in asset management. We spend money in corporate. We spend money — we need to have the best techs in the world. That drives investment. It drives margin. It drives competition. A lot of it is consumer-facing, digital, personalization, travel, offers, all these things, which we think are wonderful things. And I like the fact that we have these organic opportunities.
[Question] Are you spending more on AI?
[Answer] I think — I’m looking at it and saying, it’s a good thing that I can point out that we have, in every single area, in every single part of the company, we can grow. In some areas, it’s like trench warfare, think of certain trading and investment banking. In other areas we’re kind of out front and we want to build the next generation of technology. But investment, the thing about — you’ve heard me talk about this before, a lot of businesses, you build a new plant, you capitalize it and then you expense it over 20 years. In a lot of our businesses, everything gets expensed upfront. It doesn’t mean it isn’t a good return.
[Question] And you’re spending more on AI?
[Answer] We will be spending more — we — I think that AI — we will be spending more but it is not a big driver. I do think it will be driving more efficiency down the road. But I’d also point out about that, efficiency — because other banks have to do it too, it will eventually be passed on to the customer. This isn’t like you’re going to build 3 points of margin and you get to keep it. You don’t. So you need to build some of these things just to keep up.
And here we have — we look at — and we look at all of our competitors, those competitors include all the fintech. You have Stride, you have SoFi, you have Revolut, you have Schwab. You have everyone out there. And these are good players, and we analyze what they do and how they do it and how we would stay upfront. And we are going to stay upfront, so help us God. We’re not going to try to meet some expense target and then 10 years from now, you’d be asking us the question, how did JPMorgan left behind?
Medpace (NASDAQ: MEDP)
Medpace’s management thinks productivity changes to the CRO (contract research organisation) industry from using AI will occur slowly; management thinks the investment into AI will be equal to the benefits seen in the first year of rolling out AI applications; management thinks the productivity enhancements will be paid as rent to the AI model providers, and as benefits to clients; management thinks AI-driven productivity enhancements will be a negative for a CRO provider; the AI initiatives of Medpace fall into 2 categories, namely (1) initiatives to improve efficiency, and (2) data analytics for site selection
[Question] Maybe just one on AI since perceptions around that have had a pretty big impact on the space over the last weaker. So just maybe any thoughts you can share on how big of a technological step change you think this is for the space over the next few years? And then to what extent you think that’s a longer-term net positive or negative for Medpace? And how are you all positioning? Are you a little bit more insulated just given the kind of the nature of your client base? How are you positioned for this? Are you investing around that?
[Answer] I think it’s too early to know what kind of changes. I do think that they will occur slowly. I would not anticipate really any productivity advantage, overall net advantage to AI applications in 2026. And I think that’s not because we’re not rolling out and doing a lot of things in AI. It’s that I think the investment is going to at least equal the benefits seen in this first year of kind of rolling out applications.
Where this goes in terms of how much productivity enhancement there is in the long term and what that means to us, I mean, I do think that the productivity advances are going to be the — a part it’s going to be rent to the providers of the models, et cetera, but are going to be benefits to clients. And what that means in terms of encouraging more development, et cetera. But overall, you’d think on the surface of it, it’s negative to a service company that makes money by providing staff to perform work that is now made more efficient. But I think that the timing of this, it’s going to take years. Just what that means, what the opportunities for us are, are difficult to see. I don’t really think we have, say, barriers to prevent. I mean, we’re hoping to use AI in a lot of applications. We hope it does improve our productivity. And that means potentially in the long run, fewer staff that you’d otherwise have, and that means a little bit less revenue than you would have otherwise had, at least net revenue…
…[Question] You mentioned that 2026 is the first year you’re rolling out applications. Can you elaborate on that comment?
[Answer] They fall into 2 categories. One, just a number of different initiatives that are targeted on improving efficiency. And that the blurry line between like what do you call AI improvement that’s really tech-enabled support were different things across the organization that are focused in that category. And then the other category would be assisting with data analytics for feasibility and site selection and helping the team there with some AI-enabled tech.
When Medpace talks to clients about AI, it’s about (1) what Medpace is doing with AI to help with the clinical trials, and (2) ensuring data quality and security
[Question] When you’re talking to customers or involved in RFPs, what are they kind of focused on, if anything, from an AI angle?
[Answer] I was going to say it’s a balanced conversation because we do take a very measured approach to AI. We want to balance the benefits with risk management and ensure that, a, we have quality adoption; and b, that we’re not putting any of their information at risk. And so the conversations are kind of twofold. One, what are we doing with AI to help with their studies. And at the same time, how are we being good stewards of data to make sure that we continue with high quality and confidentiality.
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX)
Starbucks’ management has scaled Green Dot Assist across the company’s North American coffeehouses; Green Dot Assist is an AI-powered search tool for Starbucks’ partners (Starbucks calls its employees partners)
To better support our Green Apron partners, we fully scaled Green Dot Assist across our North American coffeehouses this past November. This new AI-powered knowledge search tool provides a real-time resource to look up beverage builds, troubleshoot operational issues and adjust deployment plans. It also provides a strong foundation to test and learn, then develop and scale thoughtful AI solutions that reduce friction for partners and help them focus on craft and connection with our customers.
Tractor Supply (NASDAQ: TSCO)
Tractor Supply’s management has expanded the company’s use of AI, including its relationship with OpenAI; Tractor Supply is using AI to improve forecasting, inventory flow, and productivity
On the technology front, we expanded our use of AI across the enterprise including expanding our relationship with OpenAI. The capabilities are improving forecasting, inventory flow and team member productivity, helping us operate more efficiently and better serve our customers.
Disclaimer: The Good Investors is the personal investing blog of two simple guys who are passionate about educating Singaporeans about stock market investing. By using this Site, you specifically agree that none of the information provided constitutes financial, investment, or other professional advice. It is only intended to provide education. Speak with a professional before making important decisions about your money, your professional life, or even your personal life. I have a vested interest in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Costco, Medpace, Starbucks, and Tractor Supply. Holdings are subject to change at any time.