Chip equipment stocks dominated Monday as Applied Materials posted record quarterly revenue, anchoring a broad surge in AI hardware names even as the S&P 500 slipped 0.52pct and the Nasdaq edged down 0.32pct. ACM Research surged 6.49pct, Teradyne rose 5.81pct, Applied Materials Inc. gained 5.55pct, and Micron Technology crossed the $1,000 mark for the first time. The SOXX semiconductor ETF climbed 1.58pct to $559.12, a stark contrast to the SaaS cohort, where ServiceNow dropped 5.08pct and monday.com fell 4.79pct. The top AI stocks today were almost uniformly chip names. AI stocks to watch this week include Salesforce, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks - all reporting earnings before Friday.
Top AI stocks today: August 17, 2026
| Ticker | Close | Day | 1mo | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ACMR | $85.64 | +6.49pct | +3.78pct | +90.82pct |
| $TER | $443.14 | +5.81pct | +32.77pct | +113.50pct |
| $AMAT | $535.31 | +5.55pct | +1.83pct | +99.10pct |
| $MU | $1,011.75 | +4.13pct | +16.90pct | +220.76pct |
| $LRCX | $343.84 | +3.45pct | +12.09pct | +85.80pct |
| $SOUN | $7.04 | -5.25pct | +11.57pct | -33.58pct |
| $NOW | $117.70 | -5.08pct | +12.42pct | -20.18pct |
| $MNDY | $83.33 | -4.79pct | +8.57pct | -41.90pct |
| $MDB | $438.70 | -4.70pct | +35.67pct | +9.77pct |
| $META | $568.97 | -3.54pct | -11.90pct | -12.52pct |
ACM Research surges 6.49pct on AI semiconductor equipment momentum
ACM Research Inc. (NASDAQ: ACMR) posted the day's biggest gain among the top AI stocks, climbing 6.49pct to $85.64 on heavy volume. The semiconductor equipment maker, which supplies wafer-cleaning and surface-preparation tools primarily to leading fabs in mainland China, reported strong Q2 2026 earnings that beat analyst expectations and lifted full-year guidance. According to data compiled by S&P Global, the analyst consensus target for ACMR sits at $115.14 - implying 34.5pct upside from Monday's close - on a "Buy" consensus from eight covering analysts. StartupHub.ai data shows 65 AI chip and semiconductor startups currently tracked on our platform, a cohort whose private-market momentum is now confirmed in public-market performance as advanced fab spending accelerates across Asia. ACMR is up 90.82pct year-to-date, reflecting the market's conviction that chip equipment spending is a structural, not cyclical, AI infrastructure story.
Teradyne rises 5.81pct as AI chip testing demand remains strong
Teradyne Inc. (NASDAQ: TER) extended its post-earnings rally, adding 5.81pct to close at $443.14 - a one-month gain of 32.77pct that makes it one of the best AI chip stocks to buy in 2026. The test and automation equipment maker reported record Q2 2026 results on July 29, with revenue more than doubling year over year and earnings per share growing over 300pct, driven by AI chip testing demand across all product segments. Goldman Sachs maintains a Buy rating with a $465 price target, and JPMorgan analyst Joseph Cardoso raised his target to $465 from $450 with an Overweight rating following the print. The next earnings report is October 27. Teradyne is the critical quality-gate for every advanced AI chip that leaves a fab, and as GPU complexity rises, so does the testing time per unit - a virtuous cycle for TER's revenue model.
Applied Materials gains 5.55pct on record Q3 revenue of $9.12 billion
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) anchored the chip equipment surge Monday, rising 5.55pct to $535.31 after reporting record fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $9.12 billion. The company guided Q4 revenue in the $9.75 billion to $10.75 billion range, signaling that AI-driven fab investment is accelerating rather than plateauing. Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg raised his price target on AMAT to $575 from $500 with a Buy rating following the print; UBS maintained its Buy rating at a $675 target. Among 38 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is "Strong Buy." AMAT is up 99.10pct year-to-date and sits at the centre of the best AI infrastructure stocks of 2026. Unlike hyperscalers whose AI returns remain debated, AMAT's revenue growth is direct and verifiable: every advanced node that goes into production requires its equipment.
Micron crosses $1,000 as memory demand tracks AI training buildout
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) crossed the $1,000 per-share mark Monday, climbing 4.13pct to $1,011.75. Up 220.76pct year-to-date, MU is the standout performer among the top AI stocks 2026 universe. The thesis is structural: every large language model run requires high-bandwidth memory, and Micron is one of only three global HBM suppliers. Its five-day gain of 16.49pct and one-month gain of 16.90pct suggest the market is pricing in a supply-demand inflection as AI training clusters at Microsoft, Google and Amazon pull forward memory orders. For investors looking at best AI stocks to buy with direct hardware exposure and no software-execution risk, MU remains the clearest single-ticker expression of the AI infrastructure buildout.