AI vs human research: who wins on equities?
Where AI beats the median analyst, where humans still win, and how to combine them into a workflow that compounds.
The right question isn't 'AI or human' — it's 'which tasks should each own'.
AI wins on volume and consistency
An LLM can read every 10-K in the S&P 500 over a weekend and apply the same checklist to each. No human analyst can match that throughput or consistency, which is why AI is unbeatable for screening and triage.
Humans win on context and skepticism
A seasoned analyst spots when management's tone shifts on a call, when a competitor's slide deck contradicts a guidance number, or when a CFO transition signals trouble. AI is improving here but still trails experienced humans by a wide margin.
The hybrid workflow
Let AI handle the screen, the summary, the peer comp and the first draft of the thesis. Then a human spends 30 minutes pressure-testing the conclusions, checking sources, and deciding position size. This is the workflow Edge Trader is built around.
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