CoreWeave and Super Micro surge on AI infrastructure earnings, SOXX +2.3%

CoreWeave Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWV) and Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) each surged roughly 19% Wednesday, as blowout earnings from AI server and cloud infrastructure providers triggered the broadest single-day advance in the AI chip and infrastructure sub-sector in months. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained 2.3%, the S&P 500 added 0.3% to 7,748, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 26,588, aided by a cooler-than-expected July CPI print that reinforced confidence in sustained AI capital spending. StartupHub.ai data shows that 18 of the 35 AI stocks in our tracking universe closed higher on Wednesday, with AI infrastructure and chip equipment names accounting for the bulk of outperformers.

Top AI stocks today: August 12, 2026

CoreWeave gains 19% as Q2 revenue more than doubles, backlog hits $104 billion

CoreWeave closed at $107.73 after reporting second-quarter revenue that more than doubled year-over-year and beat analyst estimates. The company disclosed a contracted backlog of approximately $104 billion, underscoring the durability of hyperscaler and enterprise demand for dedicated GPU cloud infrastructure. JPMorgan raised its price target to $110, and the average analyst 12-month target sits at $142.54 across 38 analysts. The result validates CoreWeave's early-mover advantage in the GPU cloud market: customers are locking in capacity years ahead, and the company is funding that expansion with over $30 billion in planned capital investment in 2026 alone.

Wednesday's close confirms CRWV has nearly doubled from the low-$60s in June, making it one of the top AI stocks 2026 has produced in terms of raw price appreciation. For investors tracking the best AI stocks to buy in August 2026, the $104 billion backlog is the key figure: it de-risks near-term revenue visibility more than any guidance range could.

Super Micro surges 19% as FY2027 guidance beats consensus by 30%

Super Micro Computer closed at $37.61, also up roughly 19%, after issuing fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $65 billion to $72 billion against a Wall Street consensus of $52.5 billion, a beat of roughly 30% at the midpoint. The company projected record-high gross margins of 15% to 17% for fiscal 2027, up sharply from prior guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%, driven by a favorable customer and product mix. New orders received in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 exceeded $60 billion, with total backlog reaching a record level at year-end. SMCI is up 28% over the past five sessions and nearly 40% over the past month, among the fastest-moving AI infrastructure stocks this quarter.

Dell climbs 10% on AI server read-through from Super Micro

Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) gained 9.87% to close at $484.50, benefiting directly from positive read-through as investors applied SMCI's demand signal to Dell's own AI server business. Dell entered fiscal 2026 with a $43 billion backlog of AI-optimized server orders, and the SMCI guidance validates that corporate demand for AI compute infrastructure remains well ahead of prior estimates. Dell's year-to-date gain now stands at 279%, making it one of the best-performing large-cap names of the year among the best AI stocks to buy for infrastructure exposure. The company's infrastructure solutions group, with GPU-dense servers for enterprise AI deployments at its core, is the primary driver.

Oracle and Micron add to the AI infrastructure rally

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) rose 5.36% to $153.28, extending a strong month (+15.7%) as its AI cloud infrastructure buildout continues gaining traction with enterprise customers. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) added 4.92% to $911.29, up 189% year-to-date, benefiting from the same SMCI-driven read-through: if AI server builds accelerate, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory demand accelerates alongside them. Both are AI stocks to watch ahead of NVIDIA Corp.'s Q2 print, scheduled for August 26.

Notable but quieter

Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) gained 6.11% to $402.74, its best single-day move in weeks, riding the chip equipment upgrade cycle tied to AI server builds. Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) added 4.72% and 4.29% respectively, also benefiting from the inference-era capex cycle as chip equipment order books fill alongside server backlog. Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) gained 3.32% to $100.95 on heavy volume, though no company-specific catalyst emerged and the move appears sentiment-driven. On the losing side, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) fell 3.38% to $578.85, Datadog Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) dropped 2.38% to $240.91, and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) shed 2.23% to $171.04. The Magnificent 7 AI stocks and high-multiple SaaS names broadly underperformed as investors rotated out of software and into hardware and AI infrastructure plays.

What to watch tomorrow

Thursday brings approximately 289 company earnings reports. The primary AI-sector catalyst on the horizon is NVIDIA Corp.'s Q2 print, scheduled for August 26, which will include the first substantive guidance on Blackwell inference revenue and next-generation data center demand. The July Producer Price Index also prints Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, read alongside today's tame CPI for any additional rate-trajectory signal. Any Fed commentary on the combined impact of the July jobs miss and soft inflation data could move high-multiple AI chip stocks in either direction.

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

Across hardware, hyperscale cloud, and enterprise software, the consensus top AI stocks in August 2026 include CoreWeave (CRWV), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), and Micron Technology (MU) on the AI infrastructure hardware side; NVIDIA (NVDA) for hyperscale AI compute; and Oracle (ORCL) for enterprise AI software. Wall Street's 2026 focus has shifted from training-cluster buildout to inference capacity and AI-agent monetization, which reshuffles which top 2026 AI stocks lead each session. Among top AI chip stocks today, companies with direct exposure to GPU server supply chains are seeing the strongest earnings revisions in the sector.

Core watchlist

Chips

NVIDIA (NVDA): +3.03% on heavy volume (2x avg). AI chip stocks broadly lifted by the SMCI guide; next catalyst is the Q2 print on Aug 26, the sector's most-watched report of the year.
AMD (AMD): +1.82% on light volume. Inference workload expansion the multi-quarter thesis; no specific news today, advance reflects sector sentiment.
Broadcom (AVGO): flat on average volume. Custom ASIC pipeline and networking AI upside remain the core narrative; no fresh catalyst Wednesday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM): +1.68% on average volume. CoWoS and advanced packaging capacity remains tight; the SMCI guide is incrementally positive for advanced-node wafer demand.

Hyperscalers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT): -2.26% on average volume. Azure AI remains the anchor thesis; Wednesday decline appears rotation-driven, not fundamental.
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): -0.08% on average volume. Gemini monetization pacing the narrative; essentially flat on a quiet session with no fresh catalyst.
Meta Platforms (META): -3.38% on average volume. Llama open-source leadership and ad-AI flywheel intact; underperformance reflects rotation out of Magnificent 7 AI stocks and into infrastructure names.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): -1.83% on average volume. AWS AI inference revenue the long-term driver; modest pullback on sector rotation with no company-specific news.

Enterprise SaaS

Salesforce Inc. (CRM): -2.10% on average volume. Agentforce monetization timeline still the thesis; next catalyst is the Q2 earnings print in late August.
ServiceNow Inc. (NOW): -2.04% on slightly heavy volume. Workflow-AI agent rollout the core carrier; next major catalyst is the Q3 print in October.
monday.com Ltd. (MNDY): -1.74% on average volume. mondayAI suite expansion the multi-quarter narrative; quiet session with no news.

Vol / retail

Palantir Technologies (PLTR): -2.23% on average volume. Government and commercial AI platform both intact; mild giveback after a strong prior week (+9.7% five-day).
Tesla Inc. (TSLA): -1.59% on light volume. Full self-driving and robotaxi the AI angle; down with the broader Magnificent 7 AI stocks cohort on no specific catalyst today.
Snowflake Inc. (SNOW): -0.56% on average volume. AI data cloud positioning the story; essentially flat ahead of no near-term catalyst.

Not investment advice.