In this article, we look at the 10 Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom.
AI data centers are putting unusual pressure on the optical networking supply chain, not because fiber is new, but because large AI clusters need far more bandwidth between accelerators, switches, racks, and data center campuses. Dell’Oro Group’s May 2026 outlook provides a current marker for the trend: the firm expects the optical transport equipment market to grow 16% in 2026 and exceed $18 billion in manufacturer revenue for the first time since 2000, following an estimated 20% year-over-year market growth in the first quarter of 2026. Dell’Oro also estimated that revenue tied to direct purchases for data center interconnect grew 40% year-over-year in Q1 2026.
The optical component side is showing a similar pattern. LightCounting’s April 2026 forecast said the Ethernet transceiver market grew 93% in 2024 and an estimated 82% in 2025, with another 65% growth forecast for 2026. The firm also expects AI cluster connectivity to support demand for faster, longer-reach optical modules that can move large amounts of data between data centers and across dense AI campuses. The setup remains cyclical, with risks from accelerator supply, laser-chip capacity, customer inventory, and cloud capital spending, but the AI bandwidth problem is making optical connectivity a larger part of data center expansion.
Methodology
For this article, we screened companies with meaningful exposure to fiber optics, optical networking, optical components, high-speed interconnects, and related AI data center infrastructure. We then ranked the stocks by the number of hedge fund holders holding stakes in them as of Q1 2026.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Prysmian S.p.A. (OTC:PRYMY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Prysmian S.p.A. (OTC:PRYMY) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 2, 2026, Jefferies raised its price target on Prysmian to €176, citing rising demand for optical fiber infrastructure tied to AI data centers. The firm pointed to Prysmian’s Digital Solutions unit as a key growth driver and forecast the segment’s revenue to grow at an annual rate of about 20% from 2026 to 2030, roughly doubling over that period.
The thesis fits the fiber optics theme more cleanly than broad connector or chip names because Prysmian is directly exposed to the physical cable layer. Its own May 13, 2026, discussion of AI fiber network design said AI data centers require dense, reliable optical infrastructure, including bend-insensitive single-mode fiber, ultra-high-count ribbon cables, and emerging hollow-core fiber that could extend the reach and speed of links between data centers.
Prysmian S.p.A. is a global cable and systems company serving energy, telecom, broadband, data center, and industrial markets. Its digital solutions portfolio includes optical fiber, fiber-optic cable, connectivity products, and high-density network infrastructure used in data centers and communications networks.
9. MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 45
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSI) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 8, 2026, MACOM introduced its hot via chip scale technology, a packaging process built on AlGaAs diode technology that eliminates traditional wire bonds. The product detail is technical, but the investor angle is straightforward: as AI networks move toward faster optical and high-frequency links, component makers need packaging that can preserve signal quality while reducing assembly complexity.
MACOM said the process routes RF signal and ground paths vertically through the die, simplifying surface-mount assembly, reducing parasitics, improving manufacturing consistency, and supporting reliable performance into millimeter-wave frequencies. Its first product using the process is the MASW-011261, a broadband SP2T switch operating from 60 to 110 GHz, with 0.9 dB typical insertion loss, 30 dB isolation, and sub-20 ns switching. The release reinforces MACOM’s position in high-speed semiconductor components used across optical networking and data-center infrastructure.
MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. designs and manufactures semiconductor products for telecommunications, industrial, defense, and data center applications. Its portfolio includes RF, microwave, analog, mixed-signal, optical, photonic, and networking semiconductor products.
8. Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On May 12, 2026, the company said it was working with Mediacom to accelerate DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrades and the expansion of fiber and coax infrastructure across the cable operator’s footprint. The project is not an AI data center order, but it highlights Applied Optoelectronics’ role in advanced optical and hybrid fiber-coax networking hardware, which sits close to the same bandwidth problem driving AI infrastructure spending.
Mediacom plans to upgrade its network to serve about 1 million homes by the end of 2026 using distributed access architecture, DOCSIS 4.0, fiber expansion, and whole-home Wi-Fi technology. Applied Optoelectronics is the primary vendor for Mediacom’s upgrades across legacy amplifier holdings, supplying 1.8GHz smart amplifiers and related software meant to increase capacity, improve signal quality, and lower operating costs.
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. develops and manufactures advanced optical and HFC networking products for AI data centers, CATV broadband, telecom, and fiber-to-the-home markets. Its portfolio includes optical transceivers, lasers, amplifiers, broadband access products, and related components.
7. Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRDO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 59
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRDO) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 1, 2026, the company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $437.0 million, up 157.0% year over year, and full-year revenue of $1.3 billion, more than triple the prior year. The numbers fit the AI data center angle because management tied the growth to its high-speed connectivity portfolio, which is used to improve cluster stability, GPU utilization, network reliability, and power efficiency.
Credo also guided for first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $465 million to $475 million, implying the ramp was expected to continue beyond the fiscal-year close. The release highlighted high-speed copper and optical interconnect products operating at up to 1.6T, including optical transceivers, retimers, and DSPs for optical and copper Ethernet and PCIe, giving the company direct exposure to the bandwidth needs of large AI infrastructure builds.
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. provides high-speed connectivity solutions for data infrastructure. Its portfolio includes active electrical cables, optical transceivers, retimers, DSPs, and software used in AI, Ethernet, PCIe, and cloud networking applications.
6. Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 4, 2026, Ciena reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $1.57 billion, up 40% year over year, and raised its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $6.3 billion, plus or minus $100 million, implying 32% growth at the midpoint. The optics-specific data point was the mix: Networking Platforms generated $1.27 billion, or 81.1% of revenue, while Optical Networking alone contributed $1.10 billion.
CEO Gary Smith tied the quarter to Ciena’s strategy across wide-area networks and “in and around the data center,” saying it was aligned with multi-year opportunities created by AI-driven demand. The company also guided fiscal third-quarter revenue to $1.625 billion, plus or minus $50 million. That keeps the story focused on AI bandwidth needs, where fiber, optical systems, and interconnects are becoming more important beyond the GPU layer as operators upgrade high-speed links.
Ciena Corporation provides high-speed networking systems, software, and services for communications service providers, cloud operators, governments, and enterprises. Its portfolio includes optical networking platforms, routing and switching products, automation software, and data center interconnect solutions.
5. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On May 27, 2026, the company reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $2.42 billion, up 28% year over year, and guided second-quarter revenue to $2.7 billion at the midpoint. The stronger signal for this list was management’s AI connectivity commentary.
CEO Matt Murphy said Marvell was seeing “exceptional” AI-related bookings and raised its fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 revenue outlook, citing demand across 800G and 1.6T scale-out optics, high-capacity Ethernet switches, optical links placed closer to switching chips to improve bandwidth and power efficiency, data center interconnect modules, and custom AI accelerator-related silicon. That makes the quarter more than a broad semiconductor growth story. It shows Marvell’s fiber-optic and high-speed networking products sitting near the center of the AI data center bandwidth buildout, where latency, power use, and network scale increasingly shape spending.
Marvell Technology, Inc. develops semiconductor solutions for data infrastructure markets. Its portfolio includes data center switches, optical modules, coherent and PAM DSPs, Ethernet controllers, PCIe retimers, custom ASICs, storage controllers, and other chips used across cloud, AI, carrier, and enterprise networks.
4. Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 8, 2026, Corning announced a multiyear, multibillion-dollar agreement with Amazon to supply optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions for Amazon’s expanding U.S. data center infrastructure. The deal gives Corning a direct role in the physical layer of cloud and AI capacity, where faster fiber links are needed to move traffic across large data center footprints.
The agreement is also tied to a manufacturing expansion in North Carolina, with 1,000 new advanced manufacturing jobs at Corning facilities, hundreds of construction jobs, and a new workforce program with Catawba Valley Community College focused on fiber-optic manufacturing and technical roles.
The release said the agreement builds on Amazon’s planned $10 billion North Carolina cloud infrastructure investment, making the story both a demand signal from a hyperscale customer and a domestic fiber supply-chain expansion.
Corning Incorporated is a materials science company with businesses across optical communications, display, mobile consumer electronics, automotive, solar, semiconductors, and life sciences. Its optical communications products include fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions used in broadband, cloud, and data center networks.
3. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 8, 2026, Bank of America raised its price target on Cisco to $150 from $135 and reiterated a Buy rating, extending a bullish view that had sharpened after the firm’s late-May optics note. BofA said Cisco and Ciena were benefiting from the migration from 400G to 800G optical networking, essentially the move to faster fiber-based links used to push far more data between data centers and cloud networks.
The firm pointed to more than $1 billion in Cisco Acacia optical orders in fiscal Q3, with AI-related optics demand nearly quadrupling to about $950 million. It also expects the 800G optical market to expand nearly tenfold in 2026 as hyperscalers upgrade data center and networking infrastructure. Cisco is still a broad networking company, but Acacia gives it a direct optical layer tied to AI bandwidth demand rather than a loose AI label.
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs and sells networking, security, collaboration, observability, and cloud infrastructure products. Its optical networking exposure comes partly through Acacia, which supplies coherent optical interconnect technologies used by webscale, data center, service provider, and cloud networks.
2. Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 114
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 16, 2026, Coherent signed a letter of intent to receive up to $50 million in CHIPS and Science Act funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand its 6-inch indium phosphide semiconductor manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas. The expansion is directly relevant to AI data centers because indium phosphide photonic devices are used in high-performance optical networking components that move data between processors, memory, switches, and systems.
Coherent said the project would double manufacturing production space and quadruple wafer production capacity, increasing domestic output of AI-enabling optical technologies. The company also said the site is home to the world’s first and largest volume-production 6-inch indium phosphide platform, giving it scale in a bottleneck area of AI interconnect supply. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, including over 550 direct manufacturing, engineering, and technical roles.
Coherent Corp. is a photonics and optical technology company serving data center, communications, industrial, and other markets. Its portfolio includes optical transceivers, coherent modules, lasers, indium phosphide photonic devices, engineered materials, and related components used in high-speed networks and AI infrastructure.
1. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is one of the Best Fiber Optics Stocks to Buy for the AI Data Center Boom. On June 9, 2026, Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating on Lumentum and maintained a $1,040 price target, extending a bullish view closely tied to AI optical networking. Needham analyst Ryan Koontz has described Lumentum as a 2026 “pick of the year,” with the firm’s thesis resting on AI-driven demand as data centers shift more traffic from copper links to optical connections.
The call is not without valuation risk, since the stock has already had a large run, and expectations around AI optics are high. Still, Needham’s maintained target suggests confidence that Lumentum can keep benefiting as hyperscalers build denser AI clusters that need faster links between accelerators, switches, and racks. The company’s role in optical components and photonics gives it direct exposure to that bandwidth problem rather than just a loose AI label.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. supplies optical and photonic products used in cloud networking, AI infrastructure, advanced communications, industrial lasers, and 3D sensing. Its portfolio includes optical components, modules, transceivers, lasers, and subsystems.
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