Super Micro and Dell surge on AI server backlog as enterprise software retreats ahead of earnings

Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) soared 19.84% to $30.56 on Wednesday after Needham lifted its price target, citing a record $60 billion order backlog that overshadowed soft near-term revenue guidance; Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) rallied 9.32% to $441.80 after raising its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast on surging demand for AI-optimized servers. The gains powered the PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXX to a 0.51% advance, even as enterprise software stocks posted steep declines, with ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) dropping 6.47% ahead of its second-quarter earnings release and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) shedding 6.10%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.14% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.57%, as losses among the hyperscalers and software names offset the hardware surge.

Today's biggest movers

Super Micro surges 19.84% on record $60 billion backlog

Super Micro Computer posted its largest single-session gain in months, closing at $30.56 after Needham raised its price target citing a record $60 billion order backlog, which offset concerns about a soft near-term revenue trajectory. In the most recent quarterly report, SMCI posted earnings per share of $0.84, a 36% beat versus the $0.62 consensus estimate, indicating that AI data center server demand remains firmly in motion. The company is next due to report on 11 August.

Super Micro sits at the centre of the AI hardware supply chain, manufacturing dense GPU server platforms for large-scale AI clusters. The backlog figure, if confirmed in the August report, would represent a material acceleration, lending credibility to management's argument that recent soft revenue reflected fulfilment timing rather than demand weakness. Shares remain down 1.29% year to date and off 8.28% over the past month, so Wednesday's rally returns the stock toward levels it held before the most recent pullback.

Dell jumps 9.32% after raising AI server revenue guidance

Dell Technologies raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance on the back of accelerating orders for its AI-optimized PowerEdge server line, sending shares to $441.80. Management said demand is outpacing its ability to fulfil orders, with AI infrastructure backlog building across enterprise and hyperscaler customers. Analyst consensus sits at an average price target of $487, based on 27 analysts polled by S&P Global, with teams at Evercore ISI Group, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs among those who refreshed price targets earlier this month.

Dell is up 245.70% year to date, making it one of the best-performing names in the AI infrastructure basket for 2026. The stock briefly pulled back through mid-July, including a session captured in the July 20 recap on Oracle and Dell weighing on the AI sector, but Wednesday's guidance-driven surge recovered those losses. Supply constraints remain the key risk; if component bottlenecks ease faster than demand grows, the backlog premium loses pricing power.

ServiceNow falls 6.47% as options price a 12% earnings swing tonight

ServiceNow gave back 6.47% to close at $95.46 ahead of its second-quarter 2026 results, due after Wednesday's close. The options market is pricing a swing of roughly 12.41% in either direction on the day following the report, well above the historical post-earnings average of 8.59% over the past four quarters. Wall Street consensus expects revenue of $3.93 billion and earnings per share of $0.86. The stock is down 35.26% year to date, one of the steeper declines in the AI software basket.

Sentiment heading into the print is split. CLSA analyst Bhavtosh Vajpayee initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $72 price target, implying downside of roughly 29% from current levels. By contrast, the average analyst price target sits at $139, implying significant upside if NOW can demonstrate that AI-native workflow demand is converting into contract growth. What investors will focus on: new customer additions, contract expansion rates, and whether AI-specific product lines are showing up in recognised revenue or remain in deferred backlog.

Palantir drops 6.10% as valuation overhang weighs

Palantir Technologies fell 6.10% to $124.57 in heavy volume, extending a year that has seen the data analytics company give up 25.79% since January. The selloff reflects an ongoing tension: U.S. commercial revenue grew 133% year over year in Q1 2026 and the company raised full-year guidance to roughly $7.65 billion, yet the premium multiple leaves it exposed to any growth deceleration. Insider selling has added pressure, and competing AI platforms are encroaching on segments where Palantir's Ontology-driven AIP previously had limited competition.

The average analyst price target sits at $183, implying roughly 47% upside from Wednesday's close, with 32 analysts polled by S&P Global carrying a consensus Buy rating. A strategic partnership with enterprise software firm SNP SE, announced at the Transformation World conference on 8 July, underlines management's effort to expand the commercial customer base. For broader context on the AI software pullback, see Tuesday's recap on Intel and AMD ahead of earnings.

Salesforce drops 4.15% on Morgan Stanley downgrade

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) fell 4.15% to $163.00 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and cut its price target to $185 from $287. The move deepens a difficult year: CRM is down 35.73% year to date. Salesforce reported a strong Q4 fiscal 2026 in May, posting EPS of $3.88 against a $2.96 consensus estimate, and the next quarterly report is not due until 2 September. The Morgan Stanley downgrade appears to reflect a valuation reset rather than any near-term earnings concern, with the average consensus price target of $241 across 53 analysts still implying substantial upside from Wednesday's close.

Notable but quieter

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) added 2.67% to $396.81. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its Buy rating on 14 July, calling Broadcom "a core AI winner." In its most recent quarter, Broadcom's AI-related revenue more than doubled year over year to $10.8 billion; the company expects that figure to reach $16 billion in the current quarter as hyperscaler custom silicon contracts ramp.

NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) climbed 2.30% to $212.06, lifted by the same AI hardware tailwind driving SMCI and DELL. NVDA is up 12.29% year to date; while that gain is modest relative to its 2024-25 run, it reflects a market repricing toward the broader infrastructure stack rather than one single name.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) rose 1.45% to $552.33, extending a year in which the stock has gained 147.16%. AMD surged Tuesday in a broad semiconductor rally documented in the previous session's recap; Wednesday's follow-through suggests continued confidence in AMD's data center GPU roadmap ahead of its own earnings release.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) dipped 1.46% to $342.09, a pre-earnings discount as the company reports its second-quarter results tonight. Wall Street consensus calls for roughly $116.8 billion in Q2 revenue, with particular focus on Google Cloud, which expanded 63% year over year to $20 billion in Q1. Any miss on Cloud growth would likely trigger a sharp re-rating given the stock is up only 8.55% year to date.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) slipped 2.58% to $627.17 as investors trimmed positions ahead of the company's 29 July earnings report. Bank of America noted that deep job cuts and a potential partnership with Anthropic could create meaningful upside for profits and future revenue. Analysts expect EPS of $7.13, roughly flat year over year.

What to watch Thursday

The dominant catalyst for Thursday will be post-earnings reactions to Alphabet and ServiceNow, both of which report tonight. GOOGL options are pricing significant volatility; a miss on Google Cloud growth will weigh on hyperscaler sentiment broadly, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. For NOW, the 12.41% options-implied move means the stock could close Thursday above $107 or below $84 depending on whether contract growth and AI adoption metrics satisfy a market that has already marked the stock down 35% year to date. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is also scheduled to report this week; its results will test whether Wednesday's semiconductor hardware rally has fundamental backing beyond the AI server sub-sector. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms are due in the week of 28 July, and those prints will determine whether the hyperscaler capex cycle is still accelerating or has begun to plateau.

Not investment advice.