What stocks are in the Top performers - 2026 YTD watchlist?

The Top performers - 2026 YTD watchlist tracks 18 tickers on QuantAbundance: AXTI, AAOI, SNDK, AEHR, BE, VIAV, INTC, LITE, WDC, NVTS, plus 8 more.

What is the best-performing stock in Top performers - 2026 YTD YTD?

Year-to-date, AXTI leads Top performers - 2026 YTD at 487.0%. Laggard: PL at 87.0%.

Performance

Top performers - 2026 YTD

The 15 biggest YTD gainers across the AI-buildout universe as of 2026-05-02. Heavy concentration in optical transceivers (AAOI, LITE, VIAV), compound semis (AXTI, NVTS), memory (SNDK, WDC, MU), semi test (AEHR), and datacenter power (BE, VRT) - the picks-and-shovels of the capacity bottleneck.

source: user-X-2026-05-02

Aligns with the Networking / Optical bubble5/18

Hypothetical· equal-weight buy at inception, mark-to-market today

May 2 → Sep 24 · 18/18 picks · equal-weight

+5.2%

Top performers - 2026 YTD

+6.9%

SPY

-1.7%

alpha

topMU+86.9%·MRVL+58.9%·ARM+52.3%

dragPL-54.2%·AAOI-41.9%·CIEN-33.4%

#1
AXTIAXT, Inc.
Compound semi substrates (InP/GaAs) feeding the optical buildout.
+487%
YTD
$75.90last
#2
AAOIApplied Optoelectronics, Inc.
Datacenter optical transceivers for hyperscaler links.
+426%
YTD
$101.03last
#3
SNDKSanDisk Corporation
NAND flash, post-WDC spinoff - riding AI memory demand.
+400%
YTD
$1753.62last
#4
AEHRAehr Test Systems
Burn-in / test systems for SiC and AI accelerators.
+361%
YTD
$97.42last
#5
BEBloom Energy Corporation
Solid-oxide fuel cells - datacenter on-site power.
+234%
YTD
$266.65last
#6
VIAVViavi Solutions Inc.
Optical/network test instruments for the buildout.
+210%
YTD
$37.23last
#7
INTCIntel Corporation
IDM turnaround - Foundry + 18A traction.
+170%
YTD
$127.39last
#8
LITELumentum Holdings Inc.
Lumentum - high-speed optical for AI cluster fabrics.
+158%
YTD
$929.04last
#9
WDCWestern Digital Corporation
HDD leg of the AI storage stack post-SNDK split.
+150%
YTD
$450.31last
#10
NVTSNavitas Semiconductor Corporation
GaN/SiC power semis for datacenter PSUs.
+144%
YTD
$11.84last
#11
DOCNDigitalOcean Holdings, Inc.
Agentic-inference cloud for the long tail of devs.
+114%
YTD
$141.57last
#12
VRTVertiv Holdings Co
Datacenter power & liquid cooling - AI capex compounder.
+103%
YTD
$245.30last
#13
MRVLMarvell Technology, Inc.
Custom AI silicon + optical DSP for hyperscalers.
+94%
YTD
$258.95last
#14
MUMicron Technology, Inc.
HBM memory for AI accelerators.
+90%
YTD
$1080.53last
#15
PLPlanet Labs PBC
Daily satellite imagery - AI-as-customer for geospatial data.
+87%
YTD
$17.62last
ARMArm Holdings plc
CPU IP licensor - +213% YTD per 2026 leaderboard (rank #5). v9 royalty rate ~2× v8; CSS chiplet stack underneath every named hyperscaler custom CPU.
$306.34last
CIENCiena Corporation
Coherent-optics DCI pure play - +140% YTD per 2026 leaderboard (rank #10). WaveLogic 6 (1.6T) shipping + hyperscaler DCI capex re-prioritization.
$358.43last
STXSeagate Technology Holdings plc
HDD duopoly leg + HAMR areal-density step-up - +212% YTD per 2026 leaderboard (rank #6). Mozaic 3+ ramp + hyperscaler capacity commitments.
$905.92last

Frequently asked questions

What stocks are in the Top performers - 2026 YTD watchlist?: The Top performers - 2026 YTD watchlist tracks 18 tickers on QuantAbundance: AXTI, AAOI, SNDK, AEHR, BE, VIAV, INTC, LITE, WDC, NVTS, plus 8 more.
What is the best-performing stock in Top performers - 2026 YTD YTD?: Year-to-date, AXTI leads Top performers - 2026 YTD at 487.0%. Laggard: PL at 87.0%.
What is the Top performers - 2026 YTD watchlist?: The 15 biggest YTD gainers across the AI-buildout universe as of 2026-05-02. Heavy concentration in optical transceivers (AAOI, LITE, VIAV), compound semis (AXTI, NVTS), memory (SNDK, WDC, MU), semi test (AEHR), and datacenter power (BE, VRT) - the picks-and-shovels of the capacity bottleneck.

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