The United States economy grew at an annualized rate of 2% in the first quarter of the year. This way it gained momentum after a poor final quarter of 2025, when it ended with a GDP of 0.5% due to the government shutdown.
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The takeoff was based on companies investing heavily in artificial intelligence, such as equipment and intellectual property products, highlighting how much AI has become a driver of the country’s economy.
Even considering that most computer equipment is imported, investment in artificial intelligence seems to represent approximately half of the total GDP growth in this first third of 2026
So, while it showed resilience, in a record that already includes the impact of the first weeks of the war in Iran, the economy did not grow as fast as economists expected (at 2.2%), weighed down by weaker consumer spending growth.
Data from the Department of Commerce on GDP, where the value of all goods and services produced throughout the economy is calculated, were published after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged pending more evidence on the inflationary impact of the war conflict in the Middle East. This is the same as what the Federal Reserve (Fed or U.S. central bank) did on Wednesday, which extended the pause for the third consecutive time due to rising inflation and a weakening labor market. There have been no cuts so far this year.
This inflationary upturn affected the decline in U.S. consumer spending, although it continues to be the great growth engine. Despite consumer confidence being near historic lows and the low hiring appetite of companies, consumption data – which under normal conditions constitutes approximately 70% of GDP – still held up especially among households in the top third of incomes. Personal consumption grew 1.6% in the first quarter.
“It is a two-speed economy,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, on CNBC. “Companies and investors linked to AI are booming. Meanwhile, middle- and moderate-income households are struggling with high gasoline prices and inflation that has returned to its highest level in three years,” she clarified.
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