The stock market has already begun paying an "artificial intelligence premium" to companies that investors believe will be its main beneficiaries. My research, based on an analysis of one of the largest datasets on real AI consumption, shows that the stocks of such firms grow on average 0.64% faster per week than those of other market participants. This is a persistent gap, which I call the "AI premium."
I studied 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 reflects about 2% of global monthly AI consumption. This volume of data allowed me to track with high precision how demand for neural networks changes and how stock prices react to it.
How the premium was calculated
For the analysis, I developed a special indicator — the "AI factor" — which weekly records changes in global AI consumption. I then divided companies into two groups: those whose stocks react strongly to the growing popularity of neural networks, and those that are practically insensitive to these changes. Comparing the returns of these groups showed a significant gap of 0.64% per week in favor of the former. I defined this difference as the "AI premium."
It is important to understand that this indicator is not insignificant. 0.64% per week is a substantial figure that accumulates and creates a huge long-term gap. The market constantly revalues assets based on future expectations, not current financial performance.
Who benefits: unexpected findings
My analysis revealed three key discoveries.
First: the premium has extended far beyond the technology sector. Not only IT giants receive increased returns, but also retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, and even heavy industry. Investors expect a massive increase in labor productivity across all areas of business. This is not just a tech story, but a much broader narrative affecting companies and workers in all parts of the economy.
Second: the geographic distribution of profits is extremely uneven. The bulk of the premium is concentrated in the US and Europe. These regions are closely tied to building infrastructure and constructing modern data centers. In contrast, in China and emerging markets, this effect is significantly weaker. Market mechanisms reward proximity to cutting-edge developments, which are currently available to few.
Third: the premium is driven not by millions of ordinary users, but by the professional segment. Detailed analysis showed that the financial premium is created exclusively by professionals working with complex, lengthy queries and paid subscriptions. Investors value the depth of technology integration, not mass adoption. Those who occasionally try free or open models do not create the same effect.
My conclusion: The market has already begun to advance future leaders, and this premium will only grow. Investors should pay attention not to companies that have already implemented AI, but to those with high potential for its use. Proximity to advanced models and the depth of their integration into business processes are becoming key factors for long-term capitalization growth.