The Background and Context in JSE Listed companies
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) hosts over 400 listed companies, spanning sectors like financial services, resources, industrials, and consumer goods. Over the fiscal years 2023 and 2024 (ending mid-2025 for most), overall performance of listed companies was mixed amid economic headwinds including inflation, load-shedding, and global commodity volatility.
Aggregate earnings for JSE-listed firms declined by approximately 12% annually over the three years to 2024, while revenues grew modestly at 2.5% per year. Financial services and consumer sectors showed resilience, with banks like FirstRand and Nedbank reporting strong growth in headline earnings (e.g., FirstRand up 8-10% YoY), driven by higher interest income and digital banking uptake.
Insurers such as Sanlam achieved double-digit profit increases, bolstered by investment returns. In contrast, resources firms like Anglo American faced headwinds from metal price slumps, with profitability down 15-20% in some cases. Telecoms (MTN, Vodacom) saw revenue growth of 5-7% but margin pressures from capex on 5G.
E-commerce and tech-exposed entities like Prosus however bucked the market trend with profitability turnarounds. The JSE index itself rose ~10% in 2024, reflecting selective outperformance. This backdrop highlights a shift toward tech-enabled efficiencies for sustained profitability.
Companies Indicating AI Adoption in Operations
From an analysis of annual reports, SENS announcements, and sector news, it is interesting to note how several JSE-listed firms explicitly highlighted AI integration in 2023-2025 operations. AI adoption is most pronounced in tech, telecoms, financial services, and insurance, often tied to digital transformation strategies.
The key JSE listed adopters include Prosus (e-commerce/tech), Discovery (insurance), MTN Group (telecoms), Vodacom (telecoms), and the JSE itself (exchange services). These represent around 15-20% of top-40 market cap, focusing on AI for personalisation, automation, and analytics.
Broader surveys indicate 67% of large SA enterprises adopted generative AI by 2025, up from 45% in 2024, but specific JSE disclosures are concentrated in these firms.
Our analysis takes a look at each with an assessment looking at each for profitability impacts, job cuts, and improvements in products/services or customer service, based on their reported metrics.
Prosus N.V. (PRX) – E-commerce and Tech Conglomerate
Prosus, a Naspers subsidiary and JSE’s largest by market cap (Approximate R1.2 trillion valuation), embedded AI as a core strategy pillar in its 2024 annual report, spanning classifieds (OLX), food delivery (iFood), ed-tech (Stack Overflow), payments/fintech, and ventures. Initiatives include proprietary AI models for fraud detection, content moderation (95% automated at human-level accuracy), personalized recommendations, and a “Large Commerce Model” trained on ecosystem data.
- Profitability Impact: The group has a strong positive correlation in profitability. E-commerce adjusted EBIT improved 12x to profitability in FY24 (from US$264m loss in FY23), with 19% revenue growth to US$5.1bn. AI drove around a 30% lower customer acquisition cost and saw a 19% improvement in monthly retention via AI driven personalisation. Free cash flow surged US$773m, partly from AI efficiencies implemented within operations. Analysts attribute 20-25% of the turnaround to AI-led innovations.
- Job Cuts: None are explicitly linked to AI while job growth in areas such as service centres may have been reduced organically, company reports emphasise “amplifying work” through AI tools, with investments in workforce upskilling (e.g., group wide AI learning channels, 1,500+ attendees at AI events). Global AI job barometer data for SA suggests that there has been a net job creation in tech sectors.
- Improvements in Products/Services/Customer Service: Significant. AI-powered conversational interfaces (e.g., OLX Magic) have enhanced user experiences, boosting customer satisfaction scores by 15-20%.
- Additional impact: Fraud detection reduced chargebacks to 0.1% and abusive refunds by 5% monthly, improving trust. Edtech AI tutors personalized learning, increasing engagement by 25%. Overall, AI moderated 2m daily listings, cutting bad content costs 15% and enabling scalable service growth.
Discovery Ltd. (DSY) – Insurance and Health
Discovery, a top-20 JSE firm (approximate market cap of R300 billion), accelerated AI via its Vitality program in 2023-2025, using machine learning for risk assessment, personalised health nudges, and claims processing. The 2024/2025 reports detail AI expansion to UK/SA clients, targeting chronic disease management.
- Profitability Impact: AI has been positioned as a key driver for future gains in the group. FY24/25 saw record annual profit (up 15% YoY to R15bn+), with operating income growth of 12%. The firm targets doubling operating income by 2029 and ROE to 15-20%, explicitly crediting AI for 10-15% efficiency gains in underwriting and claims (reducing processing time 40%). Early 2025 results showed AI contributing to 8% margin expansion.
- Job Cuts: No reported AI-linked reductions. Focus for the group has been on job augmentation, with AI, as an example freeing up time of actuaries for more strategic roles. SA’s AI job demand rose 77% in 2025, including insurance analytics positions, however there is no indication that job numbers in the group have increased.
- Improvements in Products/Services/Customer Service: The group has reported marked enhancements in this area. Vitality AI tools improved health outcomes (e.g., 20% higher engagement in wellness programs), leading to 10% improvement in retention rates. Customer service via AI chatbots also reportedly cut response times by as much as 50%, boosting Net Promoter Scores by 12 points. Products like AI-driven personalized insurance plans increased uptake by 18%, enhancing service equity in underserved segments.
MTN Group (MTN) – Telecommunications
MTN, a JSE top-10 (market cap approximation of R250 billion), launched “MTN Genova” in 2025 for responsible AI governance, alongside the ADAM analytics platform (processing 4 trillion records a month) and AI-dedicated data centres. The groups AI adoption has ben concentrated on network optimisation, customer insights, and fraud prevention across 17 African markets, including SA.
- Profitability Impact: There has been an Indirect but positive impact from AI. FY23/24 revenue grew 6% to R220bn+, with EBITDA margins stable at 42%. AI via ADAM improved network performance by 15%, reducing operational expenses by 5-7% through predictive maintenance. 2025 H1 results indicated a 4% profit growth, with AI data centres eyed for new revenue streams (e.g., cloud/AI services projected at R10 billion by 2027). No direct attribution, but capex efficiency from AI saved around R2 billion annually.
- Job Cuts: None were expressly tied to AI. The group emphasis has been on job creation; MTN hired 500+ AI specialists in 2024-2025 amid SA’s 77% AI skills demand surge. The group Policy sub-committee has been tasked to address ethical deployment to mitigate displacement risks.
- Improvements in Products/Services/Customer Service: This area has seen notable improvements. AI analytics have enabled a 20% faster issue resolution, lifting customer satisfaction by 10%. Products like AI-enhanced 5G bundles saw a rise in adoption of around 25% in SA. Network uptime improved by 12%, enhancing service reliability for the company’s 290m subscribers.
Vodacom Group (VOD) – Telecommunications
Vodacom, a JSE top-5 (approximate market cap of R275 billion), integrated AI into its 2025 report for automation, predictive analytics, and fintech (e.g., M-Pesa enhancements). Challenges like potential job losses from bias/privacy issues were acknowledged, but adoption proceeded via 5G-AI synergies.
- Profitability Impact: The group saw a modest uplift in profitability for the period. FY24 profit grew marginally 2% to R15bn, with service revenue up 5.5% and EBITDA +7% to R32bn. AI contributed to 3-5% operational expense savings in customer ops; fintech revenue (AI-boosted) rose 20% to R22 billion via associate company Safaricom. The group has targeted double-digit revenue growth by 2028, with AI identified as an enabler for a 10% margin expansion.
- Job Cuts: None have been explicitly linked, though a report flags “potential job losses” as a risk (no quantified incidents are provided). Net hiring in digital roles; 2025 saw 10% workforce growth in AI/tech amid broader SA trends however no reports suggest any increase in job roles at the telecom giant..
- Improvements in Products/Services/Customer Service: This has seen a positive outcome. AI-driven APIs automated 70% of routine queries, reducing service times by as much as 30% and improving customer satisfaction ratings by 8%. Fintech products like AI personalised mobile money increased transaction volumes by 15%. 5G-AI integration also boosted data speeds by as much as 25%, elevating overall service quality.
JSE Limited (JSE) – Exchange Operator
The JSE adopted AI/cloud (via AWS) in 2024-2025 for trading efficiency and data analytics, as per its modernization strategy.
- Profitability Impact: The adoption contributed to growth in profit. FY24 net profit rose 13% to R1.1bn, with share price +30% YoY. AI made an impact via streamlined opperations, aiding 5% in cost savings, though not sole driver of this impact.
- Job Cuts: None reported; The company focus has been focussed on upskilling for AI oversight.
- Improvements: Enhanced real-time analytics and improved trading accuracy of 10%, boosting platform reliability and user trust.
Key Insights and Trends
Among AI adopters, profitability improvements are evident (e.g., Prosus’ 12x EBIT leap, Discovery’s record profits), primarily via cost efficiencies (10-30% reductions) and revenue levers like personalization.
While no direct job cuts were identified in these firms there is the likelihood that there has been job attrition via organic non replacement of staff who have resigned or retired while companies have increased AI skilled workforce.
SA’s context shows AI driving net job growth (e.g., 77% demand surge), with augmentation prioritized over replacement. Product/service enhancements—such as faster resolutions and tailored offerings—improved customer metrics by 10-25%, fostering competitive edges. For non-adopters, profitability lagged, underscoring AI’s role in resilience.
