The stock market is demonstrating a new, highly indicative trend: shares of companies that investors consider future beneficiaries of artificial intelligence are growing on average 0.64% per week faster than the stocks of other market participants. This persistent gap in returns, which experts have already dubbed the "AI premium," is forming solely based on expectations, rather than actual technology adoption.
How the "AI Premium" Was Measured
To identify this phenomenon, a specialized indicator was developed — the "AI factor." It weekly tracks changes in global AI consumption, using a dataset of 380 trillion tokens collected by the OpenRouter platform from January 2024 to April 2026. This dataset covers over 400 models (including GPT, Claude, and Deepseek) and represents about 2% of global monthly AI consumption.
Based on the reaction of stock prices to fluctuations in this indicator, all companies were divided into two categories: those with high sensitivity to the growing popularity of neural networks and those with virtually no reaction. Comparing the returns of these groups revealed a premium of 0.64% per week. At first glance, this seems like a small figure, but in the long term, it creates a massive gap in market capitalization.
Who Benefits?
The key finding is that the "AI premium" has extended far beyond the technology sector. Not only IT giants but also retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, and even representatives of heavy industry are enjoying higher returns. Investors are front-loading productivity gains across all business sectors, believing in a company's potential even if it is not actively using the technology today.
The geographic distribution of profits also turned out to be unexpected. The bulk of the premium is concentrated in the US and Europe — regions closely tied to infrastructure creation and data center construction. In China and emerging markets, this effect is significantly weaker. The market rewards proximity to cutting-edge developments that are currently accessible to few.
Finally, the structure of AI users proved decisive. The premium is formed exclusively by the professional segment — complex, long queries and paid subscriptions. Investors value the depth of technology integration, not mass reach.
Cryptalist analytical conclusion: The market has shifted from evaluating current financial metrics to assessing adaptation potential. 0.64% per week is not just a number, but an indicator that investors are already pricing in future benefits from AI. For companies that can prove their ability to deeply integrate neural networks into business processes, this opens a window of opportunity for accelerated capitalization growth.