How Physical AI Could Change the Stock Market — And Your Money
How Physical AI Could Change the Stock Market — And Your Money
Travis WoodsSun, November 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing with what seems like a stunning rapidity, and it’s already moving toward a new phase, one that has less to do with chatbots and more to do with machines. Indeed, that new phase — physical AI — puts intelligence into machines that are operating in the real world.
It’s a shift that will matter to investors because it pushes AI beyond software and into the hardware and infrastructure realms that support the physical economy. Per Yahoo Finance, tech analyst Dan Ives expects physical AI to start showing up in Nvidia’s financial statements next year, as the tech company’s high-powered chips drive robotics and greater automation inside companies.
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For Nvidia, that will likely open even larger markets. For investors, it could change which parts of the stock market will benefit from the ongoing AI boom.
Nvidia’s Next AI Market
Nvidia has become central to that AI boom via its chips. The company recently announced a $150 billion stock buyback, which brings its total authorization to $235 billion, while its forward price-to-earnings multiple has declined since August 2024, despite strong quarters.
Ives sees robotics and physical AI as the next major opportunity for continued growth and profit within the industry. Spending on robotics and physical AI could eventually exponentially multiply today’s current AI spending and earnings, giving Nvidia another potential source of demand as more and more other companies begin to automate physical operations.
The Stock Market Could Broaden Its AI Winners
The first AI investment wave was centered primarily upon computing power and the infrastructure required to train and run AI models. Physical AI, though, pushes that investment story outward. As physical machines become more capable, demand will spread for the equipment and systems needed to make those machines more useful.
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Recent Merrill Lynch research said that investment in humanoid robotics has grown five times in the last seven years, and estimated that manufacturing could rise from 20,000 humanoids last year to a possible 1 million by the end of the decade, and even 10 million by 2035.
While those figures are projections rather than guarantees, they illustrate why physical AI could become important to stock market investors. A larger robotics industry would create a broader set of companies whose earnings (and market profitability) could skyrocket with AI adoption.
Your Money Could Feel the Impact Beyond Stocks
Physical AI has other economic dimensions beyond the stock market. Time reported that the current economy is saddled with supply-chain strain and shortages as contributors to a rising cost of living, while adding that physical AI can combine real-time data with historical information to improve those industrial operations.
If physical AI can help a refinery use fuel and equipment more efficiently or helps a manufacturer get more output from its workforce and machinery, businesses could have more room to control operating costs — something that could lead to lower prices for you, the consumer.
Physical AI can also impact the labor market, as it is being developed partly in response to shortages of skilled workers. Time describes systems that could guide less-experienced technicians through maintenance work; for workers, that could mean training and productivity gains that make specialized skills eventually more accessible. For employers, it could change how much output they can generate with available staff.
The Bottom Line
Physical AI remains an emerging technology, with a number of technical and operational challenges, as well as deeply philosophical and ethical questions attached. Its eventual impact upon markets (and your paychecks) will depend on just how successfully companies turn the technology into productive, reliable and responsible machines.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice. It was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy. However, AI-generated content may be inaccurate, incomplete or outdated. You should independently verify important information through reliable sources before making any decisions based on this content.
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