ARDMORE, PA — Companies that communicated artificial intelligence strategies with greater specificity outperformed their sector benchmarks by an average of 10.8% over the following 90 days, according to a study released by communications consulting firm Gregory.
The study examined 449 S&P 500 companies that announced AI initiatives between 2022 and 2025, measuring stock performance against corresponding SPDR sector exchange-traded funds after assigning each company an AI Communications Quality Score.
Gregory found that companies with the weakest AI communications underperformed their sector benchmarks by an average of 2.2% during the same 90-day period, producing a 13-percentage-point spread between the highest- and lowest-scoring groups.
The analysis excluded the effects of the largest technology companies to test whether the results extended beyond the sector’s dominant players. After removing Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Nvidia, companies with stronger AI communications still outperformed weaker communicators by 11.3 percentage points over 90 days.
Gregory evaluated companies using a 20-point scoring system based on five factors: chief executive involvement, specific AI use cases, execution within 90 days of the announcement, tier-one media coverage and board governance.
Fewer than 3% of the companies evaluated—13 out of 449—received scores of 18 or higher.
“The biggest difference we saw across AI announcements was the level of commitment and follow-through,” Chief Executive Officer Greg Matusky stated. “Every top scorer had a CEO who owned the story personally, named specific use cases with real business stakes, and shipped something within 90 days of the announcement.”
According to the study, the highest-scoring companies also disclosed measurable business objectives, identified technology partners, introduced named products or platforms and framed AI initiatives within a broader business strategy rather than presenting them as standalone announcements.
Gregory said the report includes rankings of the top 100 companies by AI Communications Quality Score, performance analysis across multiple time horizons and an examination of the messaging practices shared by the highest-scoring companies.
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