ServiceNow and monday.com lead enterprise AI surge as chip stocks crater, SOXX -6.4%

ServiceNow and monday.com each surged more than 14% on Monday, leading a sharp rotation into enterprise AI software while chip stocks suffered one of their worst single-session declines of 2026. The S&P 500 closed nearly flat at 7,413 (+0.07%) and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.82%, but the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) plunged 6.35%, illustrating exactly where the AI trade is being rewarded and where it is not.

Top AI stocks today: July 27, 2026

ServiceNow surges 14.8% on Q2 earnings beat and AI pipeline strength

ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) was the standout among AI stocks today, closing at $105.56 after last week's Q2 2026 results fully registered across the institutional buy-side. According to the ServiceNow newsroom, the company reported revenue of $3.99 billion in Q2, up 24% year-over-year, and delivered earnings per share of $0.90 versus the consensus estimate of $0.76. Subscription revenue growth accelerated on stronger-than-expected demand for AI workflow agents, with management signaling that agentic AI has become the primary growth engine rather than a supplemental feature. NOW's one-month return of +17.9% now ranks it among the strongest performers in top AI stocks 2026 within the enterprise software category.

The stock had gained only modestly on the initial earnings-day reaction last week, a pattern consistent with large institutional position-building taking several sessions to complete. Monday's 14.8% acceleration on volume roughly double recent norms reflects that absorption finishing. The next catalyst is the Q3 guidance update on the October earnings call.

monday.com jumps 14.4% as 20% layoffs unlock the AI margin story

monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY) rose 14.44% to $82.10 after announcing a restructuring that cuts approximately 20% of its global workforce, roughly 630 positions, and simultaneously lifts its 2026 non-GAAP operating margin guidance from about 13% to 15%. According to a Form 6-K filed with the SEC, management framed the reduction as a pivot to an AI-agent-first product architecture rather than a generic cost program, with full-year revenue growth guidance of 18-20% left intact. The market read it as a credibility signal: MNDY is willing to accept near-term headcount pain in exchange for faster operating leverage on its mondayAI suite. MNDY is an AI stock to watch for investors tracking how mid-market SaaS companies are repricing their cost structures for AI-native development.

The stock had been down more than 50% year-to-date entering the week; Monday's snap-back breaks a six-session losing streak and suggests the market is prepared to give the margin thesis the benefit of the doubt. Q2 results on August 10 will be the first real test of whether the restructuring is translating into revenue momentum.

Salesforce rallies 10.6% as the enterprise AI software wave broadens

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) added 10.62% to $173.60, carried by the same enterprise AI software rotation that drove NOW and MNDY. No single catalyst appeared specific to CRM; the move mirrors a recurring pattern where a large-cap SaaS earnings beat (ServiceNow in this case) triggers peer re-rating across the group. Agentforce, Salesforce's AI-agent platform, remains the central thesis heading into the company's next quarterly print, with analysts watching customer attach rates and average contract value for evidence that AI features are converting to pricing power. StartupHub.ai data shows 399 enterprise AI SaaS companies in our tracked universe averaging a score of 41.9, with most still pre-Series A, which highlights how monetization advantage in AI software remains concentrated in the established public names like CRM. Among the best AI stocks to buy for investors seeking enterprise SaaS exposure with distribution scale, Salesforce remains the largest installed base in the category.

CoreWeave sinks 12.7% as capital-spending gap weighs on AI infrastructure stocks

CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) fell 12.71% to $70.79, deepening a decline that has erased more than 43% of its value from its IPO-period highs. The Motley Fool reported that Friday's preceding 11.4% drop was driven by the structural mismatch between capital commitments and revenue: management has guided for $31-35 billion in capital expenditure this year against approximately $6.2 billion in trailing revenue, while Q1 2026 interest expense more than doubled to $536 million from $264 million a year earlier. A $35 billion contract with Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) running through 2032 provides a long-term revenue backstop but has not steadied shares, as Meta's concurrent announcements about its own cloud infrastructure capacity raise the prospect of future customer in-sourcing. Among AI infrastructure stocks in the public market, CRWV is the starkest example of the tension between first-mover positioning and capital intensity.

AI chip stocks crater: TER, MU, LRCX lead semiconductor equipment rout

AI chip stocks and chip-equipment names were uniformly lower, with Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) leading the group down 10.43% to $334.77 ahead of Q2 2026 results scheduled for after Tuesday's close. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) fell 9.09% to $900.20, ACM Research Inc. (NASDAQ: ACMR) dropped 9.56% to $79.97, Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) shed 8.81% to $291.61, ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) lost 8.19% to $1,655.26, and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) fell 8.16% to $516.89. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) declined 8.29% to $494.95 and ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) dropped 5.9%. NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) fell 5.87% to $196.51 on more than 153 million shares, roughly triple its recent daily average, suggesting institutional de-risking rather than retail-driven selling. According to StockStory, the broad selloff reflects a combination of pre-Teradyne earnings caution and sector-wide anxiety over memory oversupply and stretched AI valuations heading into a dense earnings week.

Notable but quieter

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) gained 2.79% to $326.56 as positive pre-earnings drift built ahead of Q2 2026 results due this week; Search-AI monetization and Google Cloud AI revenue are the two variables most likely to move the stock on the print. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) rose 1.97% to $389.10 on average volume as Azure AI growth expectations build heading into its own quarterly report. Both are core Magnificent 7 AI stocks and their combined cloud AI commentary will set the demand picture for the sector for the rest of the quarter. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) added 6.61% to $131.53, riding the enterprise AI software rally; the government AI contract pipeline remains the structural long-term bull case. Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) rose 3.06% to $251.86 and MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) gained 3.53% to $309.71, both tracking the enterprise data-platform tailwind that lifted the SaaS cohort broadly. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) added 2.94% to $272.92, catching the same wave on its AI Data Cloud positioning. Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) slipped 3.28% to $309.22 as broad tech de-risking outweighed any autonomy-specific news.

What to watch tomorrow

Teradyne (TER) reports Q2 2026 results after Tuesday's close; the print and Q3 guidance will determine whether the semiconductor equipment rout deepens or finds a floor. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) are both expected to report earnings this week, and their AI cloud revenue commentary will be the most closely watched data points of the season for investors in top AI stocks. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reports later in the week, with AWS AI workload demand the central variable. No major Federal Reserve speakers are scheduled Tuesday, leaving earnings catalysts as the primary driver. CoreWeave (CRWV) has no scheduled catalyst; traders will watch whether the $70 level attracts buyers or the selling continues.

What are the top AI stocks to buy in July 2026?

Across hardware, hyperscale cloud, and enterprise SaaS, the consensus top AI stocks in July 2026 include ServiceNow (NOW), Salesforce (CRM), and monday.com (MNDY) on the enterprise software side; Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) for hyperscale AI infrastructure; and Palantir (PLTR) for AI data platforms and government deployment. Monday's session reinforced a theme that has defined best AI stocks July 2026 selections: companies with clear AI agent monetization paths are outperforming hardware names still priced for a buildout cycle that may be peaking. Top 2026 AI stocks are increasingly defined by operating leverage on AI features, not raw compute scale.

Core watchlist

Chips

Nvidia (NVDA): -5.87% on very heavy volume (153M shares, roughly 3x average). Broad semiconductor de-risking carried NVDA lower; $196 is the near-term support level heading into a hyperscaler earnings week that will calibrate GPU demand signals.

AMD (AMD): -8.29% on average volume. Swept lower with the chip-equipment group; Q2 results expected later this month are the next hard catalyst for direction.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): -2.36% on average volume. Held better than chip-equipment peers; AI networking mix remains the core differentiation versus pure-GPU names.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: TSM): -3.97% on average volume. ADR declined with the semis complex; July monthly revenue report and Q3 wafer-price guidance are the near-term data points.

Hyperscalers

Microsoft (MSFT): +1.97% on average volume. Azure AI growth thesis intact; Q2 print this week is the catalyst. One of the top 2026 AI stocks by analyst consensus.

Alphabet (GOOGL): +2.79% on slightly above-average volume. Pre-earnings positive drift; Search-AI and Google Cloud AI are the two line items that move the stock.

Meta Platforms (META): -2.02% on below-average volume. Modest pullback after last week's Q2 beat; Llama-driven ad efficiency and Reality Labs AI remain the structural narrative.

Amazon.com (AMZN): -0.97% on average volume. AWS AI infrastructure demand the key variable; Q2 report due this week.

Enterprise SaaS

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): -0.12% on elevated volume. Effectively flat; OCI AI cloud bookings are the multi-quarter narrative, with the next quarterly print in September.

Vol / retail

Palantir (PLTR): +6.61% on average volume. Caught the enterprise AI software wave; government AI contract pipeline is the recurring structural long case.

Tesla (TSLA): -3.28% on average volume. Tech sector pressure; autonomy narrative intact but paused, with Q2 earnings due this week.

Snowflake (SNOW): +2.94% on light volume. Rode the SaaS tailwind; AI Data Cloud is the product repositioning story for 2026.

Not investment advice.