Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) soared 19.84% to $30.56 on Wednesday after Needham lifted its price target, citing a record $60 billion order backlog that overshadowed soft near-term revenue guidance; Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) rallied 9.32% to $441.80 after raising its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast on surging demand for AI-optimized servers. The gains powered the PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXX to a 0.51% advance, even as enterprise software stocks posted steep declines, with ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE: NOW) dropping 6.47% ahead of its second-quarter earnings release and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) shedding 6.10%. The S&P 500 slipped 0.14% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.57%, as losses among the hyperscalers and software names offset the hardware surge.
Today's biggest movers
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $SMCI | $30.56 | +19.84% | -8.28% | -1.29% |
| $DELL | $441.80 | +9.32% | +3.28% | +245.70% |
| $AVGO | $396.81 | +2.67% | +4.38% | +14.15% |
| $NVDA | $212.06 | +2.30% | +6.01% | +12.29% |
| $AMD | $552.33 | +1.45% | +6.25% | +147.16% |
| $NOW | $95.46 | -6.47% | -0.50% | -35.26% |
| $PLTR | $124.57 | -6.10% | +6.74% | -25.79% |
| $CRM | $163.00 | -4.15% | +6.24% | -35.73% |
| $DDOG | $245.77 | -3.54% | +11.42% | +83.73% |
| $META | $627.17 | -2.58% | +11.56% | -3.57% |
Super Micro surges 19.84% on record $60 billion backlog
Super Micro Computer posted its largest single-session gain in months, closing at $30.56 after Needham raised its price target citing a record $60 billion order backlog, which offset concerns about a soft near-term revenue trajectory. In the most recent quarterly report, SMCI posted earnings per share of $0.84, a 36% beat versus the $0.62 consensus estimate, indicating that AI data center server demand remains firmly in motion. The company is next due to report on 11 August.
Super Micro sits at the centre of the AI hardware supply chain, manufacturing dense GPU server platforms for large-scale AI clusters. The backlog figure, if confirmed in the August report, would represent a material acceleration, lending credibility to management's argument that recent soft revenue reflected fulfilment timing rather than demand weakness. Shares remain down 1.29% year to date and off 8.28% over the past month, so Wednesday's rally returns the stock toward levels it held before the most recent pullback.
Dell jumps 9.32% after raising AI server revenue guidance
Dell Technologies raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance on the back of accelerating orders for its AI-optimized PowerEdge server line, sending shares to $441.80. Management said demand is outpacing its ability to fulfil orders, with AI infrastructure backlog building across enterprise and hyperscaler customers. Analyst consensus sits at an average price target of $487, based on 27 analysts polled by S&P Global, with teams at Evercore ISI Group, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs among those who refreshed price targets earlier this month.
Dell is up 245.70% year to date, making it one of the best-performing names in the AI infrastructure basket for 2026. The stock briefly pulled back through mid-July, including a session captured in the July 20 recap on Oracle and Dell weighing on the AI sector, but Wednesday's guidance-driven surge recovered those losses. Supply constraints remain the key risk; if component bottlenecks ease faster than demand grows, the backlog premium loses pricing power.