Santander, Novartis and Standard Chartered Cite Early AI Payoffs in Earnings

Santander has tied 194 million euros, or about $216 million, in business value to artificial intelligence across the opening nine months of 2026, according to CNBC Technology. The Spanish lender disclosed the figure on Wednesday as part of its latest results.

The bank's finance chief, José García Cantera, told CNBC that the technology frees staff from routine work so they can spend more time on tasks worth more. He said the period marked the first time the lender could draw a direct line between AI and a positive contribution, adding that the effect runs through both income and expenses. He also noted that because the tools now sit inside most of the bank's operations, separating out AI's exact share is hard.

At Novartis, chief executive Vas Narasimhan said the Swiss drugmaker is starting to see the technology lift its profit and loss in a concrete way. The company posted core operating income of $6.04 billion for the three months, a 10% rise at constant currencies from a year earlier. Novartis did not say how much of that improvement came from AI. Narasimhan pointed to research and development, where the company is testing whether the tools can raise output, and to marketing and sales, where he said productivity gains are already visible.

Standard Chartered's finance chief, Manus Costello, said AI now shows up throughout the bank. Operating income for the three months grew 14% at constant currency when notable items are excluded. Costello linked the technology to income growth and to gains in operating leverage, where revenue rises faster than costs. He said managers use the tools to strengthen customer relationships and that AI helps the bank scale core processes efficiently.

Not every executive reported gains at scale. Carlsberg chief executive Jacob Aarup-Andersen said the brewer is not yet seeing benefits broadly, though the technology has affected internal processes, cost efficiency, pricing and commercial work, marketing and the supply chain.

Among technology companies, Meta said in its Oct. 21 results that AI spending was producing substantial added advertising revenue, with total revenue up 26% in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Alphabet saw growth in Google Search slow, while Google Cloud revenue more than doubled.

Corporate spending on AI reached $581.7 billion in 2025, a 130% increase on the prior year, per the Stanford HAI 2026 AI Index report. Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta are forecast to commit $700 billion combined to infrastructure this year.