Salesforce and CrowdStrike lead AI security stocks on earnings blowout, SOXX +2.0%

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) surged 22.6% and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) jumped 20.5% Thursday, after both companies reported fiscal second-quarter results that sharply beat Wall Street forecasts, triggering the broadest single-session rally across AI security and enterprise software names in more than a year. The S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 7,730.99 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.57% to 26,541.35; the SOXX semiconductor ETF added 1.95%, lifted by an 8.7% surge in Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) that added roughly $435 billion in market capitalization in a single session.

Top AI stocks today: August 27, 2026

Salesforce rockets 22.6% on fiscal Q2 blowout

Salesforce reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.90 for its fiscal second quarter, comfortably beating analyst consensus, on revenue of $11.35 billion. Per Invezz, the Agentforce AI agent platform drove enterprise contract expansions across professional services and retail verticals, with deals converting at materially higher average selling prices than traditional seat-based contracts. The after-hours pop on Wednesday extended through the full Thursday session as short-sellers covered and growth funds re-weighted into the name. At $252.05, CRM is back to roughly flat on the year, a sharp reversal for a stock that entered August down double digits. Among the best AI stocks 2026 consensus screens, Salesforce stands out as the clearest proof that AI-agent monetization is converting from pilot footnote to top-line driver. Any Benioff commentary at September conferences is likely to move the tape.

CrowdStrike posts "best quarter in history" as Falcon Flex doubles

CrowdStrike reported adjusted EPS of $0.31 versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $1.47 billion, up 26% year on year from $1.17 billion, for its fiscal second quarter ended July 31. CEO George Kurtz called it "the best quarter in CrowdStrike's history," per CNBC, pointing to Falcon Flex adoption: the subscription bundles more than doubled year on year, with 935 net new Flex accounts added and the top 10 deals by value all involving Flex. The company lifted its full-year revenue guide to $5.99 billion to $6.01 billion. CRWD had been one of the more debated names across AI chip stocks and security, with the stock in recovery mode following last year's global outage; this print resets the narrative. StartupHub.ai data shows 69 private cybersecurity startup funding rounds tracked in 2026 with an average deal size of $73 million, a signal of institutional conviction in the security platform model that CrowdStrike is leading.

Palo Alto Networks climbs 12.8% on cybersecurity sector wave

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW) gained 12.83%, touching an intraday high of $380.66, as investors rotated into the sector's second-largest pure-play on the view that the cybersecurity spending environment confirmed by CRWD's results applies industry-wide. The Motley Fool noted the stock's surge was directly driven by the CrowdStrike beat. Analysts at consensus project a 3.2% EPS increase and a 32.1% revenue rise when PANW reports its own fiscal fourth quarter on September 1, a print that - after today's markup - carries meaningful upward expectations risk. Among AI stocks to watch heading into the Labor Day weekend, the September 1 report is the defining near-term event for the security trade. The stock remains below its August 13 all-time high of $398.88.

ServiceNow adds 10% as enterprise AI software sweeps higher

ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE: NOW) added 10.04% on heavy volume, carried by the same enterprise AI monetization thesis that propelled Salesforce. NOW is consistently named among the top AI stocks 2026 screens because its workflow automation engine sits across every major enterprise vertical, making it a natural beneficiary when peer results demonstrate that AI features convert to contract value. With no print of its own this week, the move reads as a quality re-rating alongside CRM. NOW is up 25.8% over the past month and its next catalyst is the Q3 earnings report in October. The AI infrastructure stocks theme - enterprise SaaS monetizing AI models at the workflow layer - was Thursday's dominant trade.

Nvidia gains 8.7%, adding $435 billion in market value

NVIDIA Corp. surged 8.74% Thursday on volume of 297 million shares, adding an estimated $435 billion in market capitalization per Eastern Herald, underscoring why NVDA remains the anchor of every best AI stocks to buy screen run by retail and institutional desks. The move follows post-earnings momentum from the company's fiscal H2 data-center demand guidance. At $227.98, NVDA is up 20.7% year to date, with most of the gain concentrated in the past month (+16.9%). The AI chip stocks narrative is firmly intact; next catalysts are hyperscaler capital expenditure prints in October.

Notable but quieter

MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDB) gained 8.49% on elevated volume, extending a month-long run of +35.2% as the developer data platform benefits from the AI application buildout. Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) rose 8.19%, with the AI inference-at-the-edge narrative gaining fresh attention after CrowdStrike's Falcon Flex results demonstrated the value of bundled cloud security subscriptions. monday.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: MNDY) added 7.51%, pulled higher alongside Salesforce and the broader AI stocks today sweep; the mondayAI suite expansion is the multi-quarter narrative. Datadog, Inc. (NASDAQ: DDOG) gained 6.70%, with AI observability now a named budget line in enterprise software contracts.

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

Across hardware, hyperscale cloud, and enterprise SaaS, the consensus top AI stocks in August 2026 include Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and Nvidia (NVDA) on the software and chip-infrastructure side; Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) for hyperscale AI infrastructure; and ServiceNow (NOW) for enterprise AI workflow monetization. The Magnificent 7 AI stocks diverged Thursday: NVDA and MSFT gained while Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) dipped as capital rotated into higher-beta security and SaaS names. Wall Street's 2026 focus has shifted from training-cluster buildout to inference delivery and AI-agent monetization, reshuffling which names lead each session.

What to watch tomorrow

Friday August 28 is the final trading day of August; month-end rebalancing flows may add volatility to the week's biggest movers. Palo Alto Networks reports its fiscal fourth quarter on September 1, the most consequential print for AI stocks to watch heading into the holiday weekend. Marvell Technology (MRVL) also reported Thursday evening, and its results could read across to the AI semiconductor supply chain next week. A quiet macro calendar leaves direction driven by any post-close guidance commentary from this week's earnings cycle and position-squaring into the long weekend.

Core watchlist

Chips

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD): -0.89% on average volume. Quiet session while the tape rotated toward security and SaaS; AMD is up 113.3% year to date and the next catalyst is the October fiscal quarter report.

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO): +4.49% on moderate volume. Custom AI silicon orders for hyperscalers remain the multi-year thesis; the stock pulled back 4.2% over the past month but recovered ground today alongside the chip rally.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: TSM): +2.30% on moderate volume. CoWoS-L capacity expansion underpins the AI chip stocks supply thesis; next major catalyst is the October earnings call.

Hyperscalers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT): +1.75% on average volume. Azure AI revenue growth and Copilot enterprise seat adoption are the carrier; next print in October.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): -0.39% on light volume. Search AI Overviews monetization and Gemini Ultra enterprise deals are the multi-quarter thesis; modest dip reads as rotation, not sentiment shift.

Meta Platforms Inc. (META): -0.87% on average volume. Magnificent 7 AI stocks diverged today as capital moved to higher-beta security and SaaS names; Llama model licensing and AI ad targeting remain the long-run thesis.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): -1.54% on moderate volume. AWS AI inference revenue is the key line at the Q3 print; today's dip reads as rotation into CRM, CRWD, and the security cluster.

Enterprise SaaS

Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL): +2.06% on heavy volume. OCI sovereign cloud contracts are the carrier for AI infrastructure stocks; up 19.1% over the past month with the next print in September.

Vol / retail

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR): +4.75% on heavy volume. AIP contract expansions in defense and commercial verticals are the thesis; PLTR is up 52.1% over the past month, one of the strongest multi-week runs across all AI stocks today.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA): +2.60% on moderate volume. Full Self-Driving regulatory progress is the AI-adjacent catalyst; Robotaxi commercial launch date remains the near-term binary event.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW): +4.36% on moderate volume. Cortex AI features and agent workflow integrations are the multi-quarter growth driver; SNOW is up 10.4% over the past month.

Not investment advice.