ServiceNow and monday.com power enterprise AI rally while chip stocks crater, SOXX -4.8%

Enterprise AI software stocks staged one of their sharpest single-session outperformances of the year Tuesday as semiconductor hardware names suffered a broad rout, with ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) gaining 4.79% and monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY) surging 6.08%. The S&P 500 edged up 0.21% to 7,428.78 while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.22% to 24,876.91; the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) plunged 4.80% to 491.46, its steepest single-session loss in months, as Alphabet Inc. capex concerns and pre-earnings jitters across chip names amplified a rotation into revenue-generating AI platforms.

Top AI stocks today: July 28, 2026

AMD drops 8% ahead of August 4 earnings as options price a 12% swing

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) fell 8.15% to $454.62 Tuesday, its sharpest single-session loss in weeks, as the sector-wide chip rout converged with mounting pre-earnings uncertainty. Wall Street expects AMD to report Q2 revenue of $11.30 billion on August 4, up 47% year-over-year, yet options markets are pricing a 12.28% post-print swing in either direction, per TipRanks data. AMD has gained more than 103% year-to-date heading into the report, compressing upside in analyst targets: The Motley Fool noted Tuesday that the average price target of $570.60 across 51 analysts implies only 9% upside from current levels. The session also reflected sector-wide reassessment of capital-expenditure momentum following Alphabet Inc. capex commentary that sent investors questioning whether AI chip spending has pulled forward demand. AMD is now down 17.69% over five sessions, the steepest five-day decline among top AI chip stocks in our universe.

Micron and chip equipment stocks lead the semiconductor rout

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) shed 8.85% to $820.53, deepening a correction from its late-June all-time high near $1,213. The HBM memory thesis that drove Micron's 160% year-to-date gain remains structurally intact, but Tuesday's de-risking ahead of Meta, Apple, and Amazon earnings injected uncertainty about near-term AI-memory demand. ACM Research Inc. (NASDAQ: ACMR), a chip equipment supplier with meaningful China exposure, fell 9.94% to $72.02, the worst single-session print in the AI chip stocks universe Tuesday. Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dropped 7.82% and Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) declined 7.54%, both dragged lower by SOXX's 4.80% collapse. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) gave up 4.37% to $1,582.95. Chip equipment names are now down 20-34% over one month, a signal the market is pricing a near-term deceleration in leading-edge fab investment.

ServiceNow and monday.com anchor the enterprise AI software trade

The session's defining narrative was a rotation from AI chip stocks into AI software. ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) gained 4.79% to $110.62, extending the move that began after its July 22 Q2 report showed EPS of $0.90 against the $0.86 consensus and revenue of $3.99 billion above the $3.93 billion estimate. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY) surged 6.08% to $87.09 ahead of its own Q2 print on August 10, with Q1 revenue having risen 24% year-over-year to $351 million and AI products representing 10% of net new ARR, per company filings. Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) added 4.55% and is up 11.35% over five sessions, suggesting institutional rotation into Agentforce monetization plays. StartupHub.ai data covering 5,055 active AI companies shows enterprise software is the fastest-growing cohort by new additions in 2026, consistent with Wall Street's preference for AI names that can demonstrate revenue tied directly to usage rather than training-cluster exposure. Best AI stocks to buy in the current environment increasingly means platforms that convert AI spend into contracted ARR.

Notable but quieter

ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) fell 8.11% to $244.74, now down 28.77% over one month, a sharper correction than any other AI chip stocks name in our universe outside of memory. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) dropped 8.15% to $392.10 alongside AMD but remains the biggest year-to-date winner in our universe at +206.81%, a testament to the AI server narrative even amid Tuesday's carnage. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) slid 6.08% to $123.53 in heavy volume, an unusual miss for a name more often aligned with AI software, though the government AI contract pipeline is unchanged. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) bucked the chip pressure to gain 2.19% to $333.71, recovering some of last week's capex-driven losses ahead of Meta's Wednesday report.

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 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron Technology (MU), and NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) on the AI chip stocks side; Alphabet (GOOGL) for hyperscale AI infrastructure; and ServiceNow (NOW) for enterprise AI software. Tuesday's session reinforced that Wall Street's top AI stocks 2026 thesis has shifted from training-cluster buildout toward inference and AI-agent monetization, reshuffling which names lead on any given day. Investors scanning AI stocks today and AI stocks to watch into earnings week should monitor Meta's capex guidance Wednesday as the single most consequential data point for the next leg of the AI infrastructure stocks trade.

Core watchlist

Chips

Nvidia (NVDA): +0.25% on heavy volume. Held near $197 while AMD and MU cratered; relative strength underscores the market's view that Nvidia's AI chip moat is in a different tier from cyclical peers. Next catalyst: earnings in mid-August.

Broadcom (AVGO): -0.60% on average volume. Custom ASIC narrative intact; AVGO's 1-month +2.27% versus AMD's -15.73% captures the divergence in chip strategies Wall Street is pricing.

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): -1.70% on average volume. Mild selloff; Apple's Thursday earnings are a direct read-through for TSMC's next move given the foundry relationship.

Hyperscalers

Microsoft (MSFT): +1.09% on average volume. Copilot monetization narrative holding; Q2 earnings expected this week are the next binary event for Magnificent 7 AI stocks positioning.

Alphabet (GOOGL): +2.19% on above-average volume. Covered above in Notable but quieter.

Meta (META): -0.08% on light volume. Flat ahead of Wednesday's Q2 report; AI capex guidance is the most-watched line item in the print.

Amazon (AMZN): -0.23% on average volume. AWS AI revenue is Thursday's key variable; quiet positioning ahead of the number.

Enterprise SaaS

Oracle (ORCL): +0.05% on average volume. Largely bypassed by Tuesday's rotation despite its cloud-database moat; down 18.81% over one month, suggesting the market wants demonstrated AI-revenue growth, not infrastructure optionality.

Salesforce (CRM): +4.55% on heavy volume. Agentforce monetization is the thesis; Benioff commentary at any conference tends to move the tape and the 5-day +11.35% points to institutional accumulation.

Vol / retail

Palantir (PLTR): -6.08% on heavy volume. Covered above; government AI contract pipeline unchanged, 1-month +6.77% trend still holds.

Tesla (TSLA): -0.58% on average volume. Quiet; down 25.35% over one month as the autonomy premium faces scrutiny heading into H2.

Snowflake (SNOW): -0.94% on average volume. Holding near $270; 1-month +7.43% shows Snowflake outperforming most chip names on data-platform AI demand.

What to watch tomorrow

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) reports Q2 earnings Wednesday after the bell, with investors focused on AI capital-expenditure guidance after Alphabet's comments unsettled the tape. Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) both report Thursday, making it a two-day gauntlet for Magnificent 7 AI stocks. Qualcomm reports Wednesday as well, providing an edge-AI chip read-through. Any upward revision to hyperscaler capex would likely reverse Tuesday's chip selloff; any downward guidance risks another leg lower in SOXX. AMD reports Q2 on August 4; monday.com follows August 10.

Not investment advice.