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 18 · 18/18 picks · equal-weight

+0.2%

Top performers - 2026 YTD

+6.1%

SPY

-5.9%

alpha

topMU+75.7%·MRVL+49.9%·SNDK+43.9%

dragPL-57.3%·AAOI-39.6%·CIEN-35.2%

#1
AXTIAXT, Inc.
Compound semi substrates (InP/GaAs) feeding the optical buildout.
+487%
YTD
$70.03last
#2
AAOIApplied Optoelectronics, Inc.
Datacenter optical transceivers for hyperscaler links.
+426%
YTD
$105.17last
#3
SNDKSanDisk Corporation
NAND flash, post-WDC spinoff - riding AI memory demand.
+400%
YTD
$1791.82last
#4
AEHRAehr Test Systems
Burn-in / test systems for SiC and AI accelerators.
+361%
YTD
$93.49last
#5
BEBloom Energy Corporation
Solid-oxide fuel cells - datacenter on-site power.
+234%
YTD
$265.63last
#6
VIAVViavi Solutions Inc.
Optical/network test instruments for the buildout.
+210%
YTD
$35.36last
#7
INTCIntel Corporation
IDM turnaround - Foundry + 18A traction.
+170%
YTD
$108.60last
#8
LITELumentum Holdings Inc.
Lumentum - high-speed optical for AI cluster fabrics.
+158%
YTD
$930.91last
#9
WDCWestern Digital Corporation
HDD leg of the AI storage stack post-SNDK split.
+150%
YTD
$441.36last
#10
NVTSNavitas Semiconductor Corporation
GaN/SiC power semis for datacenter PSUs.
+144%
YTD
$11.43last
#11
DOCNDigitalOcean Holdings, Inc.
Agentic-inference cloud for the long tail of devs.
+114%
YTD
$130.14last
#12
VRTVertiv Holdings Co
Datacenter power & liquid cooling - AI capex compounder.
+103%
YTD
$249.39last
#13
MRVLMarvell Technology, Inc.
Custom AI silicon + optical DSP for hyperscalers.
+94%
YTD
$244.25last
#14
MUMicron Technology, Inc.
HBM memory for AI accelerators.
+90%
YTD
$1015.80last
#15
PLPlanet Labs PBC
Daily satellite imagery - AI-as-customer for geospatial data.
+87%
YTD
$16.42last
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.
$275.61last
CIENCiena Corporation
Coherent-optics DCI pure play - +140% YTD per 2026 leaderboard (rank #10). WaveLogic 6 (1.6T) shipping + hyperscaler DCI capex re-prioritization.
$348.80last
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.
$858.79last

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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