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
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $CRWV | $107.73 | +19.28% | +39.69% | +35.82% |
| $SMCI | $37.61 | +19.02% | +39.87% | +21.48% |
| $DELL | $484.50 | +9.87% | +17.40% | +279.11% |
| $TER | $402.74 | +6.11% | +17.72% | +94.04% |
| $ORCL | $153.28 | +5.36% | +15.69% | -21.68% |
| $META | $578.85 | -3.38% | -15.04% | -11.00% |
| $DDOG | $240.91 | -2.38% | -8.90% | +80.09% |
| $MSFT | $492.43 | -2.26% | +24.47% | +4.12% |
| $PLTR | $171.04 | -2.23% | +27.87% | +1.89% |
| $CRM | $193.32 | -2.10% | +15.76% | -23.78% |
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.