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Kevin O'Leary says AI absorbed the tariffs — but families are already $1,700 poorer

Kit Pulliam Sun, May 10, 2026 at 12:15 PM EDT 4 min read **

• ^GSPC
• DIS

On May 7, Shark Tank_ businessman Kevin O'Leary took to X to proclaim some good news: Half of S&P 500 companies have "absorbed the tariffs themselves by using AI." (1)

"The full weight of tariffs hasn't even affected the consumer yet because of this incredible productivity enhancement, this serendipitous tool that Trump never saw coming, called AI," O'Leary says.

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As proof, he points to a recent Disney earnings call: He says that, despite the increasing costs of park tickets and travel, Disney's new CEO reported "zero change in traffic," adding that, "in fact, it's up."

But not all of O'Leary's statements ring true. Here's what he gets right — and wrong — about AI, tariffs, and the economy.

Is the economy doing as well as O'Leary says?

Much of O'Leary's argument hinges on Disney park attendance, which can be a good indicator of how Americans are feeling about the economy. If park attendance was up, that would indicate that Americans feel optimistic about economic recovery.

The only problem is that park attendance isn't up. Disney park attendance is down by one percent as of a May 6 earnings call (2).

This is despite Disney offering discounts to encourage ticket sales, such as an offer that lets young children visit Disneyland for only $50. They would normally have to pay as much as $279 for a similar ticket.

A one-percent drop in attendance isn't a huge drop, but it could still indicate that Americans are feeling pessimistic about the economy.

O'Leary also has a rosier outlook on the impacts that tariffs and the Iran War are having on the economy than many others.

"You would think, given all of this volatility, that somehow it would affect something in America, and the answer is: nothing yet," he said in a CNN video he included in his post.

But the CNN anchor rebuttals that National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett says otherwise. She's likely referring to Hassett's recent statement that "credit card spending is through the roof" in America, something he took to be a good sign for the economy (3).

"They're spending more on gasoline, but they're spending more on everything else, too," Hassett said.

Story Continues High credit card spending could mean that people are having to utilize debt more just to meet their basic needs — it doesn't necessarily indicate a strong economy. (4) By the end of 2025, household debt reached a 20-year high, indicating that people could be struggling to pay debts off.

What does it mean for S&P 500 companies to absorb tariffs?

O'Leary says that S&P 500 companies have used AI to "increase their margins and productivity" and offset rising costs caused by tariffs. (1) How much has that sheltered regular households from tariff costs, and what does that absorption actually look like in practice?

The Joint Economic Committee – Minority estimates that tariffs have cost the average American family around $1,700 so far as of February 2026. (1) It used U.S. Treasury Department tariff revenue and estimates from the Congressional Budget Office to do so.

Companies are using AI as a way to cut costs — but their methods aren't always consumer friendly.

For example, AI was the biggest cause of layoffs in April 2026. It was listed as the cause for over one in four job cuts. (5) Job growth has also been down in the U.S. since Liberation day, with several months showing a contracting job market. (6)

All this means that, even if companies are absorbing tariff costs, consumers could still be paying the price.