Daily Brief
As of Wednesday, Aug 12 close

Thursday, August 13, 2026

S&P 500 +0.86%Nasdaq +1.20%Our 523 +0.65% · 332 up, 189 down

LayersConstruction -0.4%Natural Resources -0.2%Cooling +0.2%Utilities & Energy +0.3%Chip Making +0.6%Networking +0.7%Services & Investment +0.8%Silicon Design +0.9%Power Generation +1.0%Power Systems +1.1%Software & Design +1.5%Other +1.6%Operators +2.1%Servers & Compute +2.2%

MoversHYLN +15.2%XE +11.8%IREN +10.8%·SLND -15.7%AOSL -12.7%CBRS -11.7%
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Updated daily before market open. The Buildout is a website built on agentic AI tools, currently in beta, and could have factual errors.

The tape

Markets advanced Wednesday: SPY added 0.86% to $779.10 and QQQ gained 1.20% to $732.37. Our 523-stock AI infrastructure universe underperformed the S&P 500 by 21 basis points, with 332 names up, 189 down, and 2 flat; the average move was +0.65%. Servers & compute led at +2.22%, while construction was the weakest segment at -0.38%. HYLN (Hyliion Holdings Corp.) was the standout gainer at +15.2%, and SLND (Southland Holdings, Inc.) was the biggest decliner at -15.7%. AMAT (Applied Materials, Inc.) and GDS (GDS Holdings Limited) headline today’s reporting, with SHMD (SCHMID Group N.V. Class A Ordinary Shares) and HIVE (HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd.) due Friday.

What reported

CSCO (Cisco Systems, Inc.) reported fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $1.22 versus an estimate of $1.17, but shares fell 7.0% on the session.

COHR (Coherent, Inc.) reported fourth-quarter EPS of $1.74 versus an estimate of $1.62, a beat as optical and compound semiconductor demand remains a focal point for AI networking.

CBRS (Cerebras Systems Inc.) reported EPS of -$0.04 versus an estimate of -$0.17178, a beat, but shares fell 11.7%.

AOSL (Alpha and Omega Semiconductor Limited) reported fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of -$0.13 versus an estimate of -$0.24. The stock declined 12.7% despite the beat.

ENS (EnerSys) reported EPS of $3.66 versus an estimate of $2.83, a $0.83 beat.

FRVO (Fervo Energy Co.) reported EPS of -$0.38 versus an estimate of -$0.07375, a miss.

NBIS (Nebius Group N.V.) reported EPS of -$0.12 versus an estimate of -$0.71695, a $0.60 beat.

Go to our Earnings Hub for full coverage and previews
Supply chain read-through · Earnings
CSCO beat earnings but traded down 7.0%, which may reset sentiment across networking peers. ADTRAN lists Cisco and Ciena as primary competitors, so ADTN (ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.) and CIEN (Ciena Corporation) could see follow-on price action even if demand is not a direct read.
AOSL beat but declined sharply, which may reflect concern about forward power semiconductor pricing. AOSL’s confirmed competitors include ON (ON Semiconductor Corporation), MPWR (Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.), DIOD (Diodes Incorporated), and SMTC (Semtech Corporation); those names could face similar scrutiny.
COHR beating on EPS could support optical component demand across AI networking. Optical names such as AAOI (Applied Optoelectronics, Inc.) and POET (POET Technologies Inc.) may be relevant, though no direct relationship is confirmed.
ENS posting a large EPS beat may be a positive read for industrial and backup power demand. Companies such as AEIS (Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.) and AME (AMETEK, Inc.) could see related demand, but no direct supplier link is confirmed.
What's happening

CoreWeave is putting AI compute behind MasterClass’s teaching agents. CRWV (CoreWeave, Inc.) announced that its AI cloud platform is powering MasterClass’s AI teaching agents. The deployment puts a production consumer-facing workload on CoreWeave’s infrastructure, a shift beyond training and benchmark deployments.

Nebius and Vantage Data Centers are expanding in the UK’s South Wales AI Growth Zone. NBIS and Vantage announced their first deployment in the zone, adding to the UK’s AI data center pipeline. The expansion is a direct international buildout datapoint outside the US data center complex.

POET Technologies posted another quarter of fast optical growth. POET (POET Technologies Inc.) reported second-quarter revenue up 112% year-over-year and its sixth consecutive quarter of sequential growth. The silicon photonics result is a data point for optical interconnect demand.

Diodes is adding balance-sheet capacity via convertible notes. DIOD announced a proposed $325 million private placement of convertible senior notes. The capital raise sits in the power discrete and analog supply chain at a time of heavy server, automotive, and industrial demand.

Supply chain read-through · News
CoreWeave’s MasterClass deployment could indicate growing AI inference capacity utilization, which may sustain demand for power and cooling infrastructure; companies such as VRT (Vertiv Holdings Co) and MOD (Modine Manufacturing Company) may be relevant.
Nebius and Vantage’s UK expansion could point to further demand for data center construction and power distribution. ACM (AECOM) and PRIM (Primoris Services Corporation) are examples of contractors that may see follow-on activity, though no direct relationship is confirmed.
POET’s optical growth may be a positive read for the optical networking supply chain. ADTN and CIEN operate in adjacent networking segments and could face similar demand reads.
DIOD’s capital raise could intensify competitive spending in power discretes. AOSL, ON, and MPWR are direct competitors and may face competitive or pricing responses.
On watch

AMAT reports today with an EPS estimate of $3.40. Applied Materials is a direct read on wafer-fab equipment demand, including memory and leading-edge capacity.

GDS reports today with an EPS estimate of $0.01102. GDS is an important China data center capacity indicator.

TSSI (TSS, Inc.) reports today with an EPS estimate of $0.05993. The infrastructure services and rack integration readout is a window into data center deployment velocity.

LGN (Legence Corp.) reports today with an EPS estimate of $0.3712. Legence is an energy-efficiency and building-systems read for data center fit-out activity.

SHMD reports Friday with no estimate on file. The report is a read on advanced packaging and process equipment demand.

HIVE reports Friday with an EPS estimate of -$0.21. The report is a marker for digital infrastructure operators transitioning toward AI and high-performance computing workloads.

NKLR reports Friday with an EPS estimate of -$0.065.

ASPI reports Friday with an EPS estimate of -$0.17.

Go to our Earnings Hub for full coverage and previews
The week ahead

Fed Hammack Speech leads the macro calendar this week.

Macro calendar
Thu 13
Fed Hammack Speech
Producer Price Index MoM (Jul)
Core PPI MoM (Jul)
Initial Jobless Claims (Aug/08)
Fed Barkin Speech
Fri 14
Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM (Jul)
Retail Sales MoM (Jul)
Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Aug)
Business Inventories MoM (Jun)
Michigan 1 Year Inflation Expectations (Aug)
Mon 17
NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (Aug)
NAHB Housing Market Index (Aug)
Net Long-Term TIC Flows (Jun)
Tue 18
Housing Starts (Jul)
Import Prices MoM (Jul)
Building Permits (Jul)
Housing Starts MoM (Jul)
Building Permits MoM (Jul)
Export Prices MoM (Jul)
Industrial Production MoM (Jul)
Pending Home Sales YoY (Jul)
Pending Home Sales MoM (Jul)
API Crude Oil Stock Change (Aug/14)