Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Markets edged lower on Tuesday — the S&P 500 slipped 0.32% to 770.56, while the Nasdaq-100 gave back 0.34% to 718.45. The 523 AI infrastructure stocks we track outperformed handily, advancing vs. declining by 376 to 144 with an average gain of +1.20%, putting them +1.52 percentage points ahead of the broad tape. Chip Making led the charge at +2.39%; Natural Resources and Software & Design were the only segments in the red, off -0.77% and -0.45% respectively. KOPN (Kopin Corp.) surged 23.5% on the day, while engineering firm ACM (Aecom) was the heaviest drag at -8.5%. Today’s macro calendar is dense: the July CPI report drops at 12:30, with headline YoY expected at 3.4% and core at 2.5%; the OPEC monthly report and MBA mortgage data are also due. On the earnings front, NBIS (Nebius Group), COHR (Coherent), CBRS (Cerebras Systems), and CSCO (Cisco Systems) all release results, along with several others, setting up a busy session.

LITE (Lumentum Holdings Inc.) topped consensus, posting fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $3.23 against a $2.97 estimate. The optical component maker cited robust demand for high-speed transceivers used in AI data center interconnects.

SMCI (Super Micro Computer, Inc.) delivered a strong beat, with EPS of $1.70 versus the $0.92 consensus. The server and storage systems provider pointed to accelerating hyperscale and enterprise adoption of AI compute infrastructure, driving revenue well above prior expectations.

CRWV (CoreWeave, Inc.) reported a narrower net loss, with EPS of -$1.03 compared to the -$1.21 estimate. The GPU-specialist cloud provider saw revenue growth that outpaced its earlier forecast, reflecting continued appetite for on‑demand AI training and inference capacity.

KOPN (Kopin Corp.) posted an outsized loss of -$17.79 per share, far wider than the -$0.01 estimate. Despite the miss, shares jumped 23.5%, likely driven by the company’s after‑hours announcement of plans to publicly demonstrate its Neural I/O MicroLED optical interconnect with Fabric.AI at CES 2027.

Aehr Test Systems has booked a $22 million follow‑on order for AI processor wafer‑level burn‑in systems. AEHR (Aehr Test Systems) disclosed the new order on Wednesday, adding to a string of recent wins for its FOX‑XP platform. The deal underscores the scaling of advanced packaging and test as chipmakers ramp production of next‑generation AI accelerators that require exhaustive screening at the wafer level before assembly.

Netlist has launched a patent infringement action against Micron at the U.S. International Trade Commission. NLST (Netlist, Inc.) is seeking to block imports of certain memory modules, alleging infringement of its intellectual property. An adverse ruling could disrupt the supply of DRAM — particularly high‑bandwidth memory used in AI servers — forcing cloud providers and server OEMs to seek alternative sources or negotiate new licensing terms.

Microsoft has expanded its clean‑energy footprint with a new long‑term power purchase agreement in Australia. MSFT (Microsoft Corporation) signed a PPA with Recurrent Energy for the Carwarp Energy Park solar project. The deal is the latest in a series of renewable energy procurements tied to the company’s growing cloud and AI infrastructure, underscoring the steady rise in electricity demand from hyperscale data centers.

Coherent reports after today’s close. COHR (Coherent) is a critical readout for the optical networking supply chain as data centers upgrade to 800G and 1.6T links. Results will provide direct insight into transceiver demand and could move peer stocks such as LITE and CSCO.

Cerebras Systems also reports today, offering a window into wafer‑scale AI training adoption. CBRS (Cerebras Systems) will deliver quarterly numbers that shed light on large‑scale custom silicon for AI. Commentary on customer ramps and system orders will be parsed for implications on chip design and advanced packaging.

Tomorrow brings a heavy slate of data center infrastructure names. GDS (GDS Holdings) reports, serving as a bellwether for Chinese data center demand amid broadening AI buildouts. TSSI (TSS, Inc.) and LGN (Legence Corp.) will provide additional color on deployment services and energy‑efficiency retrofits for data centers.

Applied Materials reports Thursday, and the entire equipment supply chain will be listening. AMAT (Applied Materials, Inc.) carries the highest revenue weight among semiconductor equipment companies in our universe. Its outlook across logic, DRAM, and advanced packaging will set the tone for the capital‑spending cycle that underpins the AI hardware stack.