Without AI spending, U.S. corporate investment in equipment would be negative, a decline that’s ‘worryingly broad-based,’ Pantheon analyst says

Without AI spending, U.S. corporate investment in equipment would be negative, a decline that’s ‘worryingly broad-based,’ Pantheon analyst says

U.S. corporate capital expenditure would be negative without AI spending, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics analysis. While overall capex rose 2.6% in Q4 2025 driven by AI-related investments (up 7.4% for software/IP and 61% for computer equipment), all other equipment investment declined sharply by 17%, indicating a "worryingly broad-based" weakness in non-AI corporate spending.