CoreWeave and Oracle power AI infrastructure surge as hyperscalers sweep Monday rally

CoreWeave surged 19.5% on Monday after lenders restructured its $8.5 billion debt facility and Truist upgraded the AI cloud provider to Buy, setting a sharp infrastructure-led tone for a session where top AI stocks today advanced on almost every front. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% to 7,600.50 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.1% to 25,913.90 as falling oil prices - driven by renewed U.S.-Iran diplomatic negotiations - added a broad risk-on bid. The SOXX semiconductor ETF edged up 0.6% to $507.68. Gainers outnumbered losers roughly 10-to-1 in our tracked AI universe.

Top AI stocks today: August 3, 2026

CoreWeave surges 19% on debt restructure, Leidos defense deal, and analyst upgrade

CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) was the session's clear standout, surging 19.5% to close at $85.76 after three catalysts converged simultaneously. Lenders restructured an $8.5 billion loan facility backing CRWV's aggressive AI cloud buildout, alleviating near-term refinancing concerns that had pushed the stock from the low $90s in mid-July to a low of $60.55 on July 29. CoreWeave also announced CoreWeave Federal, a partnership with Leidos extending its AI-native cloud platform into secure U.S. defense and intelligence data centers. Truist upgraded the stock to Buy, pointing to strong AI compute demand and CRWV's specialized cloud edge after the 42% pullback. StartupHub.ai data shows 12 private AI infrastructure companies tracked on our platform all carry scores of 65 or above, with VAST Data and Celestial AI tied at the top score of 85, a sign the capital formation cycle behind AI compute extends well beyond publicly-listed names like CoreWeave. For more AI infrastructure stocks to watch, see the AI Stocks Daily section index.

Oracle jumps 9% as Wall Street upgrades its AI cloud and database thesis

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) gained 9.2% to $141.85, extending momentum from a strong fiscal 2026 print: annual revenue of $67.4 billion rose 17% year over year, with earnings per share of $5.94 up from $4.46 in fiscal 2025. Third-quarter revenue of $17.2 billion, up 22%, shows ORCL's AI infrastructure and database cloud positioning compounding at scale. Wall Street's conviction is broad: 29 of 41 analysts covering the stock rate it a Strong Buy. The bull case for ORCL as one of the best AI stocks to buy in 2026 centers on database dominance at the inference layer, where enterprise AI workloads increasingly land on multi-year contract cycles.

Meta rebounds 6% as investors buy the post-earnings dip

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) gained 6.0% to $590.24, reversing a portion of the roughly 9% post-earnings selloff from July 30. Second-quarter 2026 revenue of $60.8 billion rose 28% year over year and beat the $60.3 billion consensus, but diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate as total costs surged 55% to $42.0 billion, including $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance tied to an 8,000-person headcount reduction. CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed a capital expenditure ceiling of up to $145 billion for 2026, cementing META's Magnificent 7 AI stocks infrastructure commitment. Monday's dip-buying suggests the market is looking past near-term margin compression toward the multi-year AI monetization cycle.

Hyperscalers sweep: Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet extend post-earnings momentum

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) gained 4.9% Monday, extending a five-session run of nearly 24% since last week's earnings beat. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) added 4.6%, up 23% over the same five sessions. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) rose 4.9% to $373.51. All three, alongside Meta, reflected a session where the Magnificent 7 AI stocks provided the bulk of index-level gains and confirmed the market's revised view: hyperscaler AI capital expenditure is translating into durable revenue growth, not just cost inflation.

Notable but quieter

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) added 5.8% to $429.02 on continued AI server demand tailwinds, lifting its YTD gain to 235.7% - one of the standout performers in the AI infrastructure stocks category this year. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) gained 6.1% to $202.54, adding to an 11.4% five-session run as AI-native security spending broadens across enterprise. MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) rose 6.1% to $357.97. Ouster Inc. (NYSE: OUST) surged 8.9% to $42.48 for the session's third-largest gain; no single catalyst was clearly identifiable in the tape. Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) climbed 4.6% to $347.13, with YTD gains of 93.5% reflecting sustained demand for AI-adjacent security platforms.

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

Across hardware, hyperscale cloud, and enterprise SaaS, the top AI stocks in August 2026 include CoreWeave (CRWV), Oracle (ORCL), and CrowdStrike (CRWD) on the infrastructure and security side; Microsoft (MSFT) for hyperscale AI; and Palantir (PLTR) for enterprise AI software. The best AI stocks to buy in August 2026 thesis has shifted from training-cluster buildout to inference throughput and AI-agent monetization, reshuffling which names lead each session. Top 2026 AI stocks with the strongest YTD momentum in our tracked universe: Dell (+235.7%), Micron (+163.0%), Intel (+131.1%), and AMD (+116.9%) - all tied to the AI chip stocks and infrastructure build cycle.

Core watchlist

Chips

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA): +2.93% on heavy volume (127M shares). Holding above $200 with the inference-demand narrative intact; next major catalyst is the Q3 print in November.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): +1.78% on above-average volume. YTD +116.9%; data-center GPU share-gain story intact alongside the AI PC cycle.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): +0.76% on above-average volume. Custom ASIC and VMware integration remain the multi-quarter thesis; muted day relative to peer gains.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: TSM): +0.46% on above-average volume. N3 and CoWoS packaging capacity the key watch; no fresh catalyst today.

Hyperscalers

Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META), and Amazon (AMZN) all covered in the top movers sections above.

Enterprise SaaS

Oracle (ORCL): covered above.
Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM): +1.05% on above-average volume. Agentforce monetization is the central thesis; next catalyst is the Q3 earnings print later this quarter.
ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW): +2.66% on above-average volume. Workflow AI agent rollout intact; YTD -22.6% makes it one of the cheaper entries in the enterprise SaaS cohort on a relative basis.
monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY): +2.03% on light volume. mondayAI suite expansion the multi-quarter narrative; YTD -38.0% reflects sustained multiple compression.

Vol / retail

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): +2.10% on heavy volume. AI government and enterprise expansion thesis; YTD -25.2% has reset the multiple after the 2025 run.
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): +3.49% on below-average volume. Autonomy and Full Self-Driving are the AI angle; YTD -26.5%.
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): +4.86% on average volume. Data cloud positioning benefits from rising AI workload migration; five-session gain of 13.75% puts it back near multi-month highs.

What to watch tomorrow

Earnings season accelerates sharply this week: 335 companies report Tuesday August 4, with the pace building to 494 on Wednesday and 577 on Thursday. Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) is on the calendar for August 18 before market open, offering a China-AI data point later this month. Iran diplomatic developments remain the key macro overlay for AI stocks to watch: any reversal in Strait of Hormuz negotiations could quickly unwind Monday's oil-driven risk bid. On the technical side, CRWV's recovery from a 42% drawdown, ORCL's momentum pivot off multi-month lows, and SNOW testing multi-month highs are the setups worth monitoring into mid-week.

Not investment advice.