Snowflake and ARM lead AI software surge as Q1 beats revive enterprise AI thesis, SOXX +0.97%

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) erupted 36.5% on Thursday, its strongest single-session advance since its 2020 IPO, after the cloud data platform posted first-quarter product revenue of $1.33 billion, up 34% year over year, and announced a $6 billion, five-year strategic cloud commitment with Amazon Web Services. The surge ignited the broadest AI software rally of 2026, lifting the S&P 500 by 0.58% to 7,563.63, the Nasdaq Composite by 0.91% to 26,917.47, and the SOXX semiconductor ETF by 0.97% to 569.47.

Today's biggest movers

Snowflake erupts 36% on Q1 blowout and $6 billion AWS deal

Snowflake's Q1 FY2027 results, reported Wednesday after the close, cleared every bar Wall Street set. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.39 topped the $0.32 consensus by 22%; total revenue of $1.39 billion, up 34% year over year, was anchored by $1.33 billion in product revenue. Management raised its full-year product revenue target to $5.84 billion, implying 31% growth at scale, and unveiled a $6 billion, five-year commitment to AWS Graviton compute and AI infrastructure. The company also acquired Natoma, an AI-agent operations platform, giving Snowflake a managed runtime layer for enterprise AI deployments.

Wedbush Securities named Snowflake "a key data infrastructure winner in enterprise AI" and maintained a $270 price target. JMP Securities senior analyst Patrick Walravens reiterated his $325 target, while Bank of America lifted its target to $205. RBC and Citi each trimmed targets modestly but held Outperform and Buy ratings, citing valuation multiples rather than any fundamental concern. The session-high of $239.20 coincided with the close, indicating demand held through the final hour, consistent with institutional accumulation.

ARM rebounds 11% as Mizuho raises target to $360

Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) gained 10.8% to $335.27, sharply reversing the prior session's 6% loss (see Wednesday's recap). Mizuho raised its price target to $360 from $290, arguing that demand for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory in AI workloads will remain robust through 2027. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage with an Outperform rating, describing ARM's CPU architecture as "the default choice for inference at every layer of the AI stack." ARM has now risen 192% year to date, the strongest year-to-date gain in our 25-ticker universe. At approximately 356 times trailing earnings, valuation remains contested; the Buy consensus among 23 surveyed analysts suggests institutional holders continue to price in a multi-year licensing tailwind from the AI chip buildout.

MongoDB gains 11% intraday, surges another 22% after hours on earnings beat

MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) closed up 10.6% at $325.68 in regular trading, lifted by sector sympathy and rising expectations ahead of its own first-quarter report. After the close, the company confirmed what the session had foreshadowed: Q1 revenue of $687.6 million, up 25% year over year, against a $667.8 million consensus, with non-GAAP EPS of $1.32, beating estimates by 11.5%. Q2 guidance of $731.5 million at the midpoint was 4.5% above analyst expectations; full-year revenue guidance was lifted to $2.94 billion. Shares extended gains to roughly $402 in after-hours trading, a further 22% above the regular-session close. With 31 analyst Buy ratings and zero Sells in the current consensus, Friday's opening print will determine how much of that after-hours premium the market sustains.

Cloudflare jumps 9% on Anthropic agent deal and Snowflake sympathy

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) climbed 9.0% to $228.11, driven by two catalysts. First, the company announced a collaboration with Anthropic to launch "Cloudflare Environments for Claude Managed Agents," a platform for enterprise AI agent deployment across Cloudflare's global edge network. The deal positions Cloudflare as managed infrastructure for agentic AI, complementing its existing Zero Trust and network security revenue streams. Second, Snowflake's blowout lifted the entire enterprise software complex. Cloudflare had been under pressure since May 7, when its own Q1 report triggered a 24% selloff despite beating on EPS ($0.25 versus $0.17) and revenue (up 34% year over year); that session's reaction was driven by the company's announcement of 1,100 job cuts attributed to AI-driven workflow changes. Thursday's move partially closed that dislocation. The analyst consensus price target averages $237.18, with a high of $300.

Palantir rises 8% as AI software re-rating extends

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) gained 8.2% to $143.34 on no company-specific news, carried by the day's AI software tide. The move reflects a broader revaluation of AI software cash flows following Snowflake's enterprise AI spending signal. Palantir's own Q1 2026 report, released May 4, showed revenue of $1.63 billion, up 85% year over year, a net profit margin of 53%, and full-year revenue guidance of $7.65 to $7.66 billion. The Buy consensus among 21 surveyed analysts holds; 43% assign a Strong Buy rating. The next scheduled catalyst is the Q2 earnings report, expected around August 3.

Notable but quieter

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) rose 8.1% to $41.30, above the $37.13 average analyst price target compiled by S&P Global. Mizuho's $36 target, set May 12, implies downside from current levels. Governance questions following executive-level indictments in late 2025 have kept institutional conviction low, but the AI server demand cycle continues to override bearish positioning.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) advanced 6.7% to $203.70. Wedbush raised its price target to $275 and reiterated Outperform on May 13, citing accelerating AI cloud migration. Oracle reports its next quarter on June 16 after the close; consensus EPS for the period stands at $1.95.

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE: NOW) added 6.5% to $108.73 on sector beta from the day's software rally. Its Q1 2026 results, released April 22, showed revenue of $3.77 billion, up 22% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.97 beating the $0.80 estimate. Bank of America Securities holds a $130 price target; the 48-analyst S&P Global consensus is Strong Buy.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) gained 3.5% to $426.99. Microsoft's AI business is running at a $37 billion annualized revenue rate, up 123% year over year, per its most recent quarterly results. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) added 4.6% to $518.09, extending its 131% year-to-date advance on continued AI accelerator momentum (see our May 26 chip equipment recap).

What to watch tomorrow

Friday's most-watched opening print will be MongoDB (MDB), which closed at $325.68 and then surged roughly 22% in after-hours to around $402. The degree to which that premium holds or fades at the open will calibrate the market's willingness to pay full multiples on improving AI software fundamentals. Oracle (ORCL) is next on the earnings calendar for enterprise cloud reads, reporting June 16 after the close. On the macro side, Washington and Tehran agreed Thursday to extend their ceasefire by 60 days and gradually restore Persian Gulf energy exports; any reversal of that arrangement would add risk-off pressure to high-multiple growth names across the AI complex.

Not investment advice.