The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported today that the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3% annualized rate in the third quarter, far exceeding the 3.2% consensus. The data, analyzed from The Deutsche Bank and led by George Saravelos, confirms that despite high interest rates, the American economy is currently outperforming almost every major global peer. But they also warn that this 4.3% figure is being “kept alive” by AI infrastructure spending. They argue that without this “parabolic” tech investment, broader economic growth would be near zero.
The surge was driven by a record-breaking 15% increase in Intellectual Property (IP) investment, which includes the massive software and semiconductor spending fueling the AI boom.
Economists point to a growing “math problem” and while the BEA’s numbers show billions being spent on AI “factories” (data centers), enterprise revenue from AI applications is still lagging, creating an estimated $800 billion gap in expected returns.
