The AI Boom Is Starting to Look More Like an Income Filter Than a Growth Story

The featured repot argues that the AI trade is entering a harsher phase, where monetisation and cash generation matter more than narrative and capex bravado. 

• Allianz notes that the market is moving away from AI as a pure storytelling trade and toward a regime defined by capital intensity, execution, and economic viability.
• The report highlights a growing imbalance: AI capex could reach $700 billion in 2026, even as much of the ecosystem still lacks commensurate, self-sustaining cash flow.
• Its conclusion is clear: the real winners may be less the loudest AI names and more the businesses with predictable cash generation, such as key infrastructure enablers and mature platform companies.

If the first AI phase was about excitement, the next one may be about who can actually turn silicon into income.