What comes after the AI Buildout

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 05, 2026 at 18:30  |  6:23  |  Morgan Stanley
Speakers
Ellen Zentner — Chief Economic Strategist and Global Head of Thematic and Macro Investing, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Summary

Ellen Zentner discusses the shift from AI infrastructure building to the next phase of AI value creation, focusing on companies that can integrate AI into operations via intangible capital expenditure. She outlines a framework based on AI opportunity and execution capacity, identifying large financials, insurers, healthcare payers, digital retailers, logistics firms, and selected software as best-positioned. AI infrastructure remains a substantial theme, but durable value may increasingly come from operational adopters.

  • AI infrastructure capex expected to reach $1.1T next year, still benefiting many providers
  • Next phase shifts from building AI to integrating it operationally via intangible CapEx
  • Key intangible investments: data, cybersecurity, governance, workflow redesign, training
  • Best-positioned firms combine high AI opportunity with strong execution capacity
  • Favored groups: large financials, insurers/healthcare payers, digital retailers, logistics, software
  • High-opportunity sectors like regional banks and hospitals face harder, slower AI integration
  • Labor intensity alone is a poor guide to AI potential; structured cognitive work matters more
  • Adoption data shows AI impacts concentrated in tech, communications, and financials so far
Ideas
Ellen Zentner Chief Economic Strategist and Global Head of Thematic and Macro Investing, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management 0:45
AI infrastructure capex still benefits many companies
The AI infrastructure build-out remains substantial, with capital expenditures expected to rise from $800 billion this year to $1.1 trillion next year. Many of the companies building that infrastructure—semiconductor manufacturers, cloud providers, data center operators, and power networks—could continue to benefit even as attention broadens to AI adopters.
AIQ HIGH
Ellen Zentner Chief Economic Strategist and Global Head of Thematic and Macro Investing, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management 1:02
Operational AI adopters with high capacity favored
The next phase of AI value creation will reward companies that can operationalize AI through intangible CapEx—usable data, cybersecurity, governance, workflow redesign, and training. The best-positioned firms have both high AI opportunity (large volumes of repeatable cognitive work, proprietary data) and high execution capacity (balance-sheet flexibility, data governance, management discipline). These include large financial institutions, scaled insurers and healthcare payers, large digital retailers, major logistics networks, and selected software companies.
Scaled Insurers and Healthcare Payers Large Financial Institutions Large Digital Retailers Major Logistics Networks Selected Software Companies HIGH
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This Morgan Stanley video, published August 05, 2026, features Ellen Zentner discussing AIQ, Scaled Insurers and Healthcare Payers, Large Financial Institutions, Large Digital Retailers, Major Logistics Networks, Selected Software Companies. 2 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Ellen Zentner  · Tickers: AIQ, Scaled Insurers and Healthcare Payers, Large Financial Institutions, Large Digital Retailers, Major Logistics Networks, Selected Software Companies