Crowd of businessmen with multiple expressions

“We’re actually trying a totally different AI strategy to a lot of companies. We’re doubling down on agentic AI, yeah” (Getty Images)

Corporate America won’t shut up about agentic AI, or AI in general

In fact, executives are saying the word “AI” more than they’re saying “earnings” on earnings calls.

Hyunsoo Rim, David Crowther

3/17/26 1:35PM

At Nvidia’s annual developer conference Monday, CEO Jensen Huang unveiled a jaw-dropping number that briefly sent the chip designer’s shares soaring: at least $1 trillion in expected revenue from its next-generation AI chips through 2027.

The demand, Huang said, is largely driven by the rise of “AI natives” like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have pushed computing demand for Nvidia’s GPUs “off the charts.”

Indeed, boardrooms have been consumed by AI for a while now, with executives increasingly talking about the two-letter technology more than the results they’re there to discuss. According to Bloomberg data, S&P 500 executives said the word “AI” nearly 5,000 times on S&P 500 calls in the first quarter alone, outpacing the word “earnings” by more than 1,200 mentions.

But for C-suite folks looking to juice their stock price, it’s not enough to be talking about chatbots or generative AI. The AI term you have to work into your conference call spiel is agentic AI — that is, systems that don’t just answer your questions, but actually do things for you, from booking a meeting to filing an expense report.

Pointing to OpenClaw — the viral open-source tool that lets anyone build and run AI agents — Huang called it “the new computer,” adding that “every company in the world today needs to have an OpenClaw strategy.” Nvidia, for its part, unveiled its own NemoClaw on Monday, a more secure, enterprise-ready version that allows companies to deploy agents safely.

And Corporate America is catching on fast. While mentions of “AI agents” and “agentic AI” on S&P 500 earnings calls were virtually nonexistent until late 2024, now they’re in the hundreds, rising more than fivefold over the last five quarters to 245 mentions in Q1 2026, per Bloomberg data.

Reducing agents

Wall Street likes talk of “agents” because the implication is fewer employees. Just recently, we’ve seen a big round of layoffs at Block, 10% of jobs slashed at Atlassian, and reports of huge cuts at Meta, with AI-powered efficiency gains promised in each case.

Mastercard recently launched an agentic AI tool to provide small businesses with C-suite-level solutions. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase’s chief analytics officer told CNBC last September that the bank’s end goal is one where “every process is powered by AI agents,” with internal demos already generating a full investment banking deck in 30 seconds. Major retailers have also jumped in, with Walmart, Target, and Home Depot having partnered with tech providers to deploy agentic AI tools across their operations, from pricing to inventory. PepsiCo, maker of Cheetos, Lay’s, and Mountain Dew, wants to be completely agentic first.

Even the companies most bruised by the agentic AI wave are trying to embrace it. After a massive sell-off in software stocks earlier this year on fears that AI agents could displace traditional software-as-a-service (SaaS) models, Nvidia said on Monday it’s teaming up with a slate of software firms — including Adobe, SAP, and Salesforce — to build and run AI agents using its Agent Toolkit platform. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em... or at least ask your AI agent what to do next.

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Lululemon’s stretch getting tested: Stock plunges after after outlook is cut

Lululemon shares are down double digits in premarket trading after the company cut its full-year sales and profit outlook, overshadowing a Q1 beat and raising fresh concerns about the brand’s turnaround efforts.

The company now expects fiscal 2026 revenue to be flat to down 1%, compared with its prior forecast for 2% to 4% growth. Guidance for full-year diluted earnings per share was dragged down to a range of $10.95 to $11.15, below the company’s previous guidance of $12.10 to $12.30 and well below Wall Street’s estimate of $13.26.

Key numbers for Q1:

EPS of $1.69 vs. the $1.68 expected.
Revenue of $2.47 billion vs. the $2.43 billion expected.

The modest top-line beat masked a widening divergence between Lululemon’s geographic markets. While international revenue rose 22% overall with a 30% increase in Mainland China, the bigger problem remains North America, where revenue fell 5%.

Interim co-CEO and CFO Meghan Frank acknowledged during the earnings call that recent product rollouts underperformed. A highly anticipated yoga campaign failed to generate its expected “halo effect” across broader product lines.

Profitability metrics took a major hit, with gross margins contracting by 410 basis points to 54.2% due to mounting tariff costs and promotional markdowns. Operating income consequently fell 37% year over year to $276.9 million.

“We experienced spikes of negative commentary in the media and on social channels with regard to our brand, which had an impact on traffic and overall top-line performance,” Frank said during the earnings call. “And second, not all of our product launches have met our expectations. While we have had several successful launches so far this year, we have seen others as we start Q2 not generate the anticipated guest response.”

Lululemon’s valuation has already been steadily compressing for years. While it was once one of retail’s richly valued stocks, investors have been questioning whether the company can return to the double-digit growth era.

The results also arrive during a leadership transition. Lululemon announced back in April that former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill is set to take over as CEO in September, with investors looking to her to revive growth in North America and restore the brand’s growth.

As Lululemon faces both macroeconomic pressure and brand-specific challenges, its stock has dropped around 40% year to date.

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US job growth skyrocketed in May, blasting past expectations

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in the month of May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, sending 10-year Treasury yields higher.

The strong May job market surprised economists. Experts had predicted only 85,000 new jobs — just half the reported number. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, as expected.

The job growth story is a hopeful spot for the economy as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressure from the Iran war.

Job gains were buoyed by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs, as well as local government, healthcare, and education.

Both the March and April jobs reports were revised upward, making them collectively 93,000 higher than previously reported.