AXTI surged on optical sector momentum and 165% YoY revenue growth; TE jumped 10% as new US solar tariffs protect its domestic manufacturing plans. BW landed a 20-turbine Siemens data center deal and drew a 7.66M share Ameriprise disclosure, but still trades like a turnaround on a weak chart. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises didn't make the cut.
Grab the names FREE today. Three second-derivative AI plays are in focus Friday morning. AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) is trading higher alongside a broad rally in optics names, T1 Energy (NYSE:TE) is bouncing on the domestic solar policy trade, and Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (NYSE:BW) is drawing attention around a fresh institutional disclosure.
The connective tissue: AI capex is now pulling in materials, power gear, and energy suppliers well beyond the obvious chip names. AXT is up about 3.1% today, around $79.83, after an Aug. 13 close of $77.45. The catalyst is a sector move.
Applied Optoelectronics is up about 5%, Lumentum about 4%, and Corning about 4.5%. AXT makes compound semiconductor substrates, and its indium phosphide wafers are a key input for the high-speed optical transceivers and silicon photonics used in AI data centers. When the optical connectivity trade runs, AXT runs with it as the upstream materials supplier.
The fundamental case got a fresh push from Q2 FY26 results reported July 30, 2026, when revenue hit $47.59M, up 164.8% year over year, and CEO Morris Young said the company "reached an inflection point" on data center optical connectivity demand. The Q2 details are laid out in AXT's 8-K filing on SEC.gov. Investors should note the setup is stretched: YTD +373.7%, one-month +34.5%, one-year +3,453%.
That one-year figure is extraordinary and cuts both ways. T1 Energy is up about 9.5% today. T1 reported Q2 FY26 on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, with revenue of $250.13M beating the $198.84M consensus by roughly 26% and management guiding toward the high end of its 3.1 to 4.2 GW production range.
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