Ten stocks boasted double-digit gains on Friday, outperforming a lackluster broader market, as investors positioned portfolios amid a flurry of strong corporate earnings, with more releases expected in the next few days.
Meanwhile, only the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished in the green among Wall Street’s major indices, up 0.89 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively. The Dow Jones was down by 0.31 percent.
In this article, we focus on the 10 stocks delivering outsized gains and break down the reasons behind their performance.
To come up with the list, we considered the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
A stock market graph. Photo by energepic.com
10. nVent Electric PLC (NYSE:NVT)
nVent Electric climbed to a fresh all-time high on Friday after a stellar earnings performance and a higher growth outlook for the second quarter of the year.
The stock jumped to its highest price of $167 at intra-day trade before trimming gains to end the session just up by 11.21 percent at $158.92 apiece.
In an updated report, nVent Electric PLC (NYSE:NVT) said that it was able to grow its net sales by 53 percent to $1.242 billion from $809.3 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by strengthening demand from broad-based data centers.
Net income from continuing operations stood at $140.4 million, or a 61 percent jump from the $87 million in the same period last year.
Net income, which includes discontinued operations, fell by 60.5 percent to $142.4 million from $360.7 million year-on-year.
Encouraged by the results, nVent Electric PLC raised its guidance across key metrics for the full-year 2026 period.
Report sales are now projected to grow by 26 to 28 percent, versus 15 to 18 percent previously. This represents a 21 to 23 percent organic sales growth, versus the prior outlook of 10 to 13 percent.
Earnings per share were pegged at $3.68 to $3.78 on a GAAP basis, and adjusted EPS of $4.45 to $4.55, versus the prior guidance of $3.27 to $3.42 on a GAAP basis and adjusted EPS of $4 to $4.15.
For the second quarter, nVent Electric PLC is looking to hit sales growth of 28 to 30 percent and organic sales growth of 23 to 25 percent.
On May 8, 2026, shareholders on record as of April 24, 2026, are set to receive $0.21 in cash per share held as part of the company’s quarterly dividends.
9. Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)
Newell Brands saw its share prices jump by 11.52 percent on Friday to finish at $4.55 apiece, as investors cheered a higher growth outlook for full-year 2026.
In an updated report, the company said that it now expects net sales to either grow by 2 percent or finish flat year-on-year, versus the previous guidance of a 1 percent uptick or a 1 percent dip.
Core sales are also targeted to either inch up or decrease by 1 percent in the same comparable period, better than the previous outlook of a 2-percent decline or flat growth.
The outlook followed the company’s earnings performance in the first quarter of the year, with net loss narrowing by 10.8 percent to $33 million from $37 million in the same period last year. Net sales, however, declined by 1.1 percent to $1.549 billion from $1.566 billion.
“First quarter results came in ahead of plan across all key metrics with all three segments delivering core sales above our expectations. Higher than expected consumer demand for our products, as evidenced by improving point of sale and share trends, was driven by continued investment in innovation, advertising, and promotional support. We also experienced better-than-expected underlying category dynamics despite the continued existence of a challenging macroeconomic backdrop,” said Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) President and CEO Christ Peterson.
“We continue to believe that our strategy is working and, importantly, we now expect to return to top-line growth in the second quarter,” he noted.
For the second quarter, both net sales and core sales are targeted to either grow by 2 percent or remain unchanged year-on-year.
8. Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)
Applied Optoelectronics soared to a fresh all-time high on Friday, as investors increased further exposure in the company ahead of next week’s earnings performance results.
At intra-day trade, the stock surged to its highest price of $191.87 before trimming gains to end the session just up by 11.65 percent at $183.51 apiece.
Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) is scheduled to announce its financial and operating highlights for the first quarter of the year after market close on Thursday, May 7. A conference call will be held to elaborate on the results.
For the period, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. is targeting to report revenues in the range of $150 million to $165 million, or an implied growth of 50 percent to 65 percent from the $99.9 million in the same period last year.
However, it expects to incur a net loss of $300,000 to up to $7 million, versus a $900,000 net loss in the same period a year earlier.
Earlier this week, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. bagged a new $20.9 million grant from the state of Texas for its manufacturing expansion in Sugar Land, while supporting the latter’s plans to advance the semiconductor industry.
At present, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. is underway with the expansion of an additional 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility adjacent to its current headquarters in Sugar Land, where it will establish one of the largest production capacities for AI-focused data center transceivers in the US.
Upon completion, the new development is expected to generate more than 500 new jobs.
7. Nebius Group NV (NASDAQ:NBIS)
Nebius climbed by 11.76 percent on Friday to close at $154.49 apiece, as investors gobbled up shares following news that it would acquire startup company, Eigen AI, in a bid to support faster and more efficient AI models, while strengthening its presence in the US.
In a statement, Nebius Group NV (NASDAQ:NBIS) said that the acquisition will help strengthen its Token Factory, which businesses use to run AI systems, as a frontier managed inference platform for production AI, complementing the listed firm’s global computing capacity and AI cloud platform.
Upon closing, Eigen AI’s inference and post-training optimization layers will be integrated directly into Nebius Token Factory, which provides enterprise-grade autoscaling endpoints and fine-tuning pipelines across all major open-source models.
“We are operating in a capacity-scarcity world where AI builders need optimized inference and infrastructure scale. The integration of Eigen AI’s optimization capabilities and founding team will establish Nebius Token Factory at the frontier of inference, offering customers market-leading model performance and unit economics with massive compute capacity to back it at scale,” said Nebius Group NV Chief Business Officer Roman Chernin.
In other news, Nebius Group NV is set to announce the results of its earnings performance for the first quarter of the year before market open on Wednesday, May 13. It will likewise hold a conference call to discuss the results.
6. Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT)
Reddit snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday, as investors cheered its stellar earnings performance in the first quarter of the year, with profits skyrocketing by nearly 700 percent.
In an updated report, Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) said that its net income increased by 680 percent to $204 million from only $26 million in the same period last year, on the back of strong advertising revenues for the period.
Total revenues increased by 69 percent to $663 million from $392 million year-on-year, on the back of a 74-percent jump in advertising sales, at $625 million.
Daily active uniques (DAUq) also increased by 17 percent year-on-year to 126.8 million from 108.1 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Following the results, Reddit Inc. issued a growth outlook of 43 to 45 percent in revenues for the second quarter of the year, to a range of $715 million to $725 million, versus $500 million in the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be $285 million to $295 million, or an implied jump of 70.6 percent to 76.6 percent from the $167 million posted in the same period last year.
“Reddit is a one-of-one business powered by deeply engaged communities and authentic human conversation. That foundation is driving a rare combination of growth, profitability, and efficiency, and giving Reddit a unique advantage in the age of AI,” Reddit Inc. CEO Steve Huffman said.
5. Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG)
Lightwave Logic extended its winning streak to a third consecutive day on Friday, to hit a fresh four-year high, as investors positioned portfolios ahead of its annual stockholders’ meeting.
At intra-day trade, the stock climbed to a record high of $17.28 before trimming gains to end the session just up by 18.59 percent at $16.27 apiece.
In a notice, Lightwave Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) said that it will hold a shareholders’ meeting on May 21, 2026, where investors are expected to watch for business updates, strategies, and outlook for the short-term period.
In other news, Lightwave Logic Inc. announced that its high-speed modulator platform was made available as part of the GDSFactory process design kit, which GlobalFoundries uses for its silicon photonics manufacturing platform.
Lightwave Logic Inc. said that it partnered with GDSFactory for the integration of its polymer-based modulator technology into the GDSFactory PDK, enabling customers to incorporate high-speed electro-optic polymer modulators directly into their photonic integrated circuit designs for tape-out on GF’s silicon photonics platform.
The expanded PDK and integrated design flow support simulation, verification, and fabrication handoff within the GDSFactory environment, providing a manufacturable pathway from design to foundry execution.
4. SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN)
SoundHound AI soared by 20.10 percent on Friday to finish at $9.56 apiece, as investors began positioning portfolios ahead of its first quarter earnings performance.
In a notice to investors, SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) said that it is set to announce its financial and operating highlights after market close on Thursday, May 7. It will hold a conference call to elaborate on the results.
Investors are expected to watch for the company’s updated outlook for the short-term period, given the installation of an interim chief finance officer (CFO) following the departure of Nitesh Sharan to assume a leadership role in a quantum computing company.
Sharan, who officially stepped down last April 3, was temporarily replaced by Chief Product Officer James Hom, who served as the company’s first CFO from its founding in 2005.
In other news, SoundHound AI Inc. bagged a contract renewal with retail giant Casey’s for the deployment of the former’s voice AI technology across more than 2,600 locations.
The renewed partnership followed SoundHound AI Inc.’s successful support to Casey’s in handling more than 21 million guest interactions and processing of millions of food orders.
“Leveraging SoundHound’s voice AI ordering agents, Casey’s stores can answer incoming calls for pizza even during peak meal times, reducing missed orders and long hold times while ensuring guests can place orders quickly and accurately,” the listed firm said.
3. AXT Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI)
AXT climbed to a new all-time high on Friday, as investor optimism was fueled by its strong earnings performance in the first quarter of the year, amid the rapidly growing AI needs that propelled a strong demand for its products.
At intra-day trade, AXT Inc. (NASDAQ:AXTI) climbed to its highest price of $96.32 before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 21.18 percent at $96 apiece.
In a statement, AXT Inc. said that it was able to narrow its attributable net loss for the first three months of the year by 81 percent to just $1.62 million from the $8.80 million in the same period last year.
Revenues increased by 39 percent to $26.9 million from $19.3 million year-on-year.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for AXT…we completed a capital raise for $632.5 million in support of Tongmei’s indium phosphide capacity expansion as well as R&D investment in new products like 6-inch indium phosphide. Indium phosphide substrates are a key ingredient in high-speed optical data transmission required in AI-focused data centers,” AXT Inc. CEO Morris Young noted.
“As the market continues to grow, capacity will become a critical enabler. Longer-term capacity planning is one of the most important discussions we are having today with customers and major supply chain players in our space. The message we have for them is this: AXT is stepping up. We believe we are in the best position to support and enable our industry in meeting the current and future needs,” he noted.
2. Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO)
Twilio saw its share prices hit a new four-year high on Friday, as investors loaded portfolios after net profits more than quadrupled in the first quarter of the year.
In intra-day trade, Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) climbed to its highest price of $184.13 before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 23.83 percent at $183.34 apiece.
In an updated report during the day, the company said that it grew its net income last quarter by 350 percent to $90 million from only $20 million in the same period last year.
Revenues increased by 19.6 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.17 billion year-on-year.
“Q1 was a milestone quarter for Twilio, marked by our highest revenue and gross profit growth rates in more than three years,” Twilio Inc. CEO Khozema Shipchandler said.
“Twilio’s performance is the result of a multi-year, companywide evolution that fundamentally transformed Twilio’s innovation velocity, GTM efficiency, and financial rigor and has led us to become a foundational infrastructure layer in the era of AI,” he noted.
1. Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM)
Atlassian saw its share prices increase by 29.58 on Friday to finish at $88.88 apiece, as investors took heart from its better-than-expected revenues in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
In an updated report, Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) said that it grew its total revenues by 31.6 percent to $1.79 billion from $1.36 billion in the same period last year. The actual figure exceeded its earlier expectations of $1.689 billion to $1.697 billion.
Net loss, on the other hand, widened by 38.97 percent to $98.39 million from $70.8 million year-on-year.
“Our strong Q3 results show the power of our strategy in action, with total revenue growing 32 percent year-over-year to $1.8 billion, as customers sign bigger, longer-term commitments, and connect their teams and workflows on our AI-powered platform,” Atlassian Corp. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said.
Cloud revenues alone accelerated by 29 percent year-on-year as customers ramp up their engagement for increased AI capabilities.
Looking ahead, Atlassian Corp. is targeting to further grow its revenues in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year by 19 percent to 20 percent to a range of $1.653 billion to $1.661 billion, versus the $1.384 billion in the same quarter in 2025.
Cloud revenues alone are projected to grow by 25.5 percent, with data center customers to help drive the expansion.
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