When will AI companies start returning on investment?

Skeptics of the artificial intelligence revolution have recently had the upper hand.

In July, the semiconductor sector of the U.S. stock market began to underperform; chip stocks fell precipitously, down 20% and more. Investors started to demand clear evidence that spending on AI hardware would generate sufficient financial returns to justify investing trillions of dollars. Profit-taking and extreme overweight positions amplified the selling. Talk of an AI bubble began to emerge. Selling intensified in the first half of this month. By Oct. 15, the major semiconductor exchange-traded funds had declined for eight consecutive sessions with drawdowns of around 12%.