Intel and Dell power AI chip rally on Apple chip talks and record server orders, SOXX +5.7%

Intel Corp. surged nearly 14% and Dell Technologies jumped 13% Friday as fresh reports of Apple chip-manufacturing discussions rekindled optimism over a domestic semiconductor renaissance, while Dell's record $43 billion AI server backlog drew a wave of analyst upgrades. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOXX) climbed 5.67% to 520.30, its largest single-session advance in three months, outpacing a 1.71% gain in the Nasdaq Composite to 26,247.08 and a 0.84% rise in the S&P 500 to 7,398.93, which was aided by an April payrolls print that came in nearly double analyst forecasts at 115,000 jobs added versus a 65,000 estimate, with unemployment steady at 4.3%.

Today's biggest movers

Cloudflare sinks 24% as AI workforce overhaul offsets a solid quarter

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) delivered first-quarter revenue of $640 million, topping the $622 million analyst consensus, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.25 against a $0.23 estimate. Full-year guidance of $2.805-2.813 billion narrowly beat the $2.80 billion expected. Despite those beats, shares plunged 23.62% to $196.13 after CEO Matthew Prince announced a 20% reduction in global headcount, roughly 1,100 roles, framing the cuts as a structural response to agentic AI absorbing tasks previously requiring human staff. Gross margin of 72.8% fell short of the 75.1% the market expected, and second-quarter revenue guidance of $664-665 million landed below the $666 million consensus. The combination of margin compression and a headcount contraction that peers are resisting, most are still hiring into AI, sent Cloudflare to its worst single-day decline in over a year. Shares are essentially flat year-to-date after today's move, sitting well below the $219 52-week intraday high reached just days ago. Thursday's recap had flagged Cloudflare as part of a broader AI software rally; Friday reversed that entirely for NET.

Intel extends weekly surge on Apple chip talks and manufacturing momentum

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) closed at $124.92, its highest level in several years, as preliminary discussions with Apple Inc. about domestic processor manufacturing drew renewed buying interest. The administration has cited $30 billion in new U.S. semiconductor manufacturing commitments, a figure analysts linked partly to emerging foundry agreements involving Intel. Intel's first-quarter results, reported April 23, had already set a strong fundamental floor: adjusted earnings per share of $0.29 demolished the $0.01 consensus estimate, and revenue of $13.58 billion topped the $12.42 billion forecast, with non-GAAP gross margins of 41% exceeding guidance by 650 basis points. Friday's 14% gain marks the second double-digit session move this week for INTC, which is up 217% year-to-date, making it one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in 2026. Many sell-side price targets remain well below current levels; consensus as of this week stands near $65, flagging a wide divergence between institutional models and the market's re-rating of the stock around its foundry pivot.

Dell climbs 13% on $43 billion AI server backlog and analyst target hikes

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) added 13.11% to $260.46, continuing a week-long re-rating driven by the company's AI server momentum. Dell entered its current fiscal quarter with a record $43 billion committed AI server backlog after signing $34.1 billion in new AI orders in a single quarter. AI-optimized server revenue surged 342% year over year in fiscal Q4, reaching $9 billion and representing 26% of total company revenue for that period. Mizuho raised its price target to $260 from $215, maintaining an Outperform rating. Bank of America lifted its target to $246 from $205 with a Buy. Full-year fiscal 2026 revenue reached $113.54 billion, an 18.8% increase over the prior year. Dell reports Q1 fiscal 2027 results on May 28, and the backlog level provides strong forward visibility. The stock is up 103.8% year-to-date. Tuesday's session recap traced the week's AI infrastructure rally back to AMD and Super Micro's earnings prints, which set the tone for the broad chip move.

AMD closes above $455 as post-earnings analysts pile in

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) gained 11.44% to $455.19, extending a multi-session run that began after its first-quarter earnings beat on May 5. Q1 revenue of $10.3 billion exceeded estimates, and second-quarter guidance of $11.2 billion, representing roughly 46% year-over-year growth, came in above the consensus. CEO Lisa Su attributed the stronger forward guide partly to a supply agreement with Meta Platforms for the MI450 GPU, which began flowing into the order book. Goldman Sachs upgraded AMD to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $450; Bernstein upgraded to Outperform with a $525 target; Barclays lifted its target to $500 with an Overweight rating. AMD is now up 103.7% year-to-date. The MI450 demand signal, if sustained into Q2, would put AMD's data center GPU segment on a trajectory broadly comparable to NVIDIA's acceleration cycle in percentage-growth terms during 2023.

Datadog crosses $200 on raised full-year guidance after Q1 beat

Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) rose 6.06% to $200.16, crossing that threshold for the first time after reporting first-quarter revenue of $1.01 billion, a 32.2% year-over-year increase that beat the $959.6 million estimate. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.60 topped the $0.51 consensus. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to $4.32 billion at the midpoint, up from the prior $4.08 billion, and lifted its adjusted earnings outlook to $2.40 per share at the midpoint. Guggenheim, which rates DDOG Buy, raised its price target to $225, expecting 34% revenue growth in Q2 and citing Datadog's positioning as the observability layer for enterprise AI deployments. DDOG is up 49.6% year-to-date.

Notable but quieter

Applied Materials ($AMAT, +6.04% to $435.44) rose on pre-earnings positioning ahead of its fiscal Q2 report on May 14. Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454, and the company announced a 15% quarterly dividend increase payable June 11. Palo Alto Networks ($PANW, +5.78% to $207.88) rode the cybersecurity sector tailwind, with FQ3 earnings due June 2 as the next key read. Super Micro Computer ($SMCI, +5.21% to $35.37) continued its post-earnings recovery; fiscal Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.84 beat the $0.62 estimate, though revenue of $10.24 billion came in below the $12.33 billion expected, with strong guidance carrying the stock. ASML Holding N.V. ($ASML, +4.97% to $1,592.02) and CrowdStrike Holdings ($CRWD, +4.36% to $527.77) tracked the broader semiconductor and security indices higher. Salesforce ($CRM, -2.43% to $181.82) and ServiceNow ($NOW, -2.58% to $91.18) underperformed, extending a pattern of enterprise SaaS lagging AI infrastructure names in 2026; both remain well below their 52-week highs on a YTD basis.

What to watch next week

Applied Materials (AMAT) reports fiscal Q2 earnings on May 14; with the stock up 62% year-to-date and Morgan Stanley's $454 target near current levels, forward margin guidance will be the critical data point for semiconductor equipment investors. NVIDIA Corp. ($NVDA, +1.75% Friday to $215.20) reports Q1 fiscal year 2027 results on May 20; given AMD's MI450 demand confirmation and Intel's foundry pipeline expansion, the market will scrutinize NVIDIA's H200 and Blackwell shipment cadence and any commentary on competitive pressure. Palo Alto Networks ($PANW) reports FQ3 on June 2. Dell Technologies ($DELL) Q1 FY27 results on May 28 will be the next major infrastructure demand read. On the macro side, the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is June 17-18; the stronger April payrolls print reduces the probability of a near-term rate cut, which may weigh on rate-sensitive software valuations. The Middle East situation, which TheStreet noted overshadowed the jobs data early in Friday's session before being dismissed by markets, remains a tail risk for global risk appetite.

Not investment advice.