AI Server Stocks Surge on Broad Hardware Rotation as Oracle Seen With 50% Upside on Record Cloud Backlog

A rotation that began earlier in the week in memory and chip names broadened into AI server makers on Thursday, sending Hewlett Packard Enterprise up 9%, Super Micro Computer up 6%, and Dell Technologies up 3%. The move was sector-specific rather than a general tech rally: the tech ETF IYW gained roughly 2% on the day, underscoring that the bid was concentrated in hardware assemblers. Rising memory prices were cited as a supporting factor, though analysts noted those same price increases pressure Super Micro's already thin margins, making the rally a double-edged setup for that name.

Oracle's most recent cloud quarter is adding fuel to the AI infrastructure trade more broadly. The company booked $30 billion in new AI contracts last quarter, runs GPU utilization at 97.9%, and reported IaaS growth of 121%, outpacing Azure's 43% and AWS's 37%. Its remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted future revenue, surged 325% year over year to $553 billion. Despite those figures, Oracle shares have pulled back, and analysts at 247wallst.com argue the disconnect creates what they call the most asymmetric setup in the market, with a price target implying roughly 50% upside.

EMCOR Group told the Morgan Stanley Laguna conference that AI data center construction is a primary growth driver for the company. SpaceX is also reported to be in discussions to acquire training data from failed AI startups for its own AI model development. Meta shares climbed on enthusiasm around its Muse AI product, with investors watching for the next potential catalyst. Box raised its 2026 outlook, pointing to accelerating AI-driven workflow adoption as a source of competitive advantage in the enterprise market.