By Georgie Preston
Publication Date: 2026-04-08 08:00:00
Australian stocks face rising earnings risk as AI begins to erode traditional competitive advantages. ClearBridge Investments has warned.
Reece Birtles, the firm’s head of Australian equities, said in a recent note that recent analysis of ASX 200 earnings drivers showed that AI is becoming a key disruptive force, particularly for high-growth, capital-light companies.
“The most impactful emerging topic is the threat posed by AI to software and content-based companies,” he said.
While traditional revenue drivers such as consumer demand, business demand, margin expansion and productivity remain positive, Birtles says there is “little evidence of a positive market response for companies that are successfully using AI to improve their business.”
His comments come amid the ongoing “SaaS-pocalypse” that has gripped global markets, with investors indiscriminately selling software-as-a-service stocks out of fear of disruption from AI. Year-to-date through April 8, the ASX…