Perplexity AI has launched a new financial research tool, but industry experts warn it may not live up to the hype just yet. While aiming to provide comprehensive AI-powered stock analysis, Perplexity Finance currently offers capabilities similar to existing platforms, with room for improvement before it can truly disrupt the market.
What Perplexity Finance Offers
The new tool, available to Perplexity Pro subscribers for $20 per month, provides:
- Real-time stock quotes and price tracking
- Historical earnings data and visualizations
- Industry peer comparisons
- Basic financial analysis tools
Notably, the hard data comes from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP), a respected provider of financial APIs, rather than being generated by AI models. This lends credibility to the underlying information.
Partnerships Expand Data Access
Perplexity has announced partnerships with Crunchbase and FactSet to enhance its offerings:
- Crunchbase will provide private company data to Enterprise Pro users
- FactSet will offer financial data to mutual clients
However, accessing these additional data sources requires an Enterprise Pro account ($40/month/seat for companies under 250 employees) plus separate subscriptions to Crunchbase or FactSet.
Expert Skepticism
Financial industry professionals have expressed skepticism about the tool's current utility:
- Historical financial data alone has limited value for in-depth analysis and valuation work
- The information provided is already widely available through other sources
- True value comes from qualitative research and forward-looking financial models
Some experts argue that slapping AI onto existing financial data is unlikely to provide meaningful insights without more sophisticated analysis.
Room for Improvement
Perplexity's CEO acknowledges that more work is needed, including:
- Ingesting and analyzing 10-Q and 10-K filings
- Enabling deeper research on proxy statements and annual reports
- Improving earnings analysis capabilities
Outlook
While Perplexity Finance shows potential, it currently lacks the depth and sophistication to compete with established financial analysis tools. The company's expansion into this space is worth watching, but investors and analysts should temper their expectations in the short term.
As AI technology advances, there may be opportunities to enhance qualitative research and develop more insightful forward-looking models. For now, Perplexity Finance appears to be a user-friendly interface for accessing existing financial data rather than a revolutionary AI-powered analysis tool.