(Bloomberg) — The chatter around artificial intelligence on earnings calls in Europe is scaling new peaks as even companies beyond technology-related sectors are embracing it to boost efficiency and competitiveness.
Mentions of “AI” on fourth-quarter earnings calls of companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 index reached a record 1,788, about a fifth more than references made a year earlier, according to transcripts compiled by Bloomberg.
Predictably, executives at tech firms and the analysts covering them talked about AI the most, spurred by the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek in January. Europe’s biggest software company, SAP SE, had the highest number of AI mentions at 81, followed closely by Swiss electronics manufacturer Logitech International SA and British software firm Sage Group Plc.
Growing use of AI-enabled tools also meant that the machine-learning technology was mentioned repeatedly on analyst calls of companies in other sectors including recruitment, health care and telecommunications.
Finnish phone company Elisa Oyj witnessed one of the most dramatic surges in AI mentions. From just seven mentions last year, the technology was cited 37 times this year. The company is using AI for marketing automation and business-to-business customer services.
“Things like DeepSeek will just accelerate the adoption of AI in all shapes and forms,” Chief Executive Officer Topi Manner said on Elisa’s January earnings call. “AI will also become more affordable for many companies and there will be more apps and more applications that will be using AI going forward.”
The frequency at which AI is being discussed among Europe’s consumer and health-care firms has grown over the last four quarters as the technology is expected to boost “efficiency, targeted advertising, consumer experience, drug development and diagnosis,” Bloomberg Intelligence strategists Kaidi Meng and Laurent Douillet wrote in a note.
UK property portal Rightmove Plc is increasing deployment of AI, while recruitment firm Adecco Group AG is looking to introduce “agentic AI.” The technology has also became a buzzword in European banking. For the first time in six years, bank executives referred to AI more frequently than “ESG” while discussing their earnings, the transcripts showed.
“We are setting industry standards across segments with our AI-driven innovation,” Roy Jakobs, CEO of MRI scanner-maker Koninklijke Philips NV, said in an earnings call in February, with references to the technology almost tripling to 11 from a year earlier. Almost half of the company’s sales now come from new and upgraded products launched in the last three years.
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