AI infrastructure stocks rose on Wednesday after strong quarterly financial reports from AI server hardware maker Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) and neocloud providers CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) and Nebius Group NV (NASDAQ:NBIS).
Big Tech companies have already signaled that spending on AI would not slow down. The combined outlays are set to surpass $730 billion this year.
Operating at different levels of the AI infrastructure stack, the results from CRWV and SMCI deliver the same message: customer spending on AI infrastructure is surging rather than slowing down.
CoreWeave: Backlog Demand is Running Hot
CRWV stock popped almost 20% on Wednesday after surging demand from hyperscalers for AI compute capacity resulted in doubled second-quarter revenue. Revenue came in at $2.6 billion, up 112% from $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2025. Looking ahead, it forecast third-quarter revenue of between $3.4 billion and $3.6 billion.
Revenue backlog for CRWV for the quarter stands at $104 billion as of June 30. This doesn’t include $25 billion in new customer commitments for the third quarter. Management has also commented that CRWV’s near-term capacity is effectively sold out. This enables the company to negotiate new computing contracts on more favorable terms.
At the same time, the company faced operating expenses of $2.6 billion, up from $1.2 billion a year earlier, leaving it with an operating loss of $49 million. Growth therefore depends on demand staying strong and bringing additional capacity online fast enough to generate adequate returns.
Super Micro:$60 Billion in Orders Reinforces the AI Buildout
SMCI was also up 18% on Wednesday after it posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beating Wall Street estimates backed by surging artificial intelligence. The company delivered a staggering 77.5% EPS beat — $1.70 vs. $0.96 estimated. However, revenue of $11.12B narrowly missed the $11.73B consensus.
Sales of $11.1 billion were up 93% year-over-year, and gross margin also improved from 9.5% to 17.5%. According to the management, the company booked more than $60 billion in new orders in a single quarter, entering fiscal 2027 with record backlog.
Looking ahead, the company forecasts annual revenue between $65 billion and $72 billion, above analysts’ average estimate of $52.50 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG.
However, the bear case for SMCI has been execution. The company narrowly missed Wall Street expectations of $11.73 billion in revenues, reporting $11.2 billion instead. This is because some customer projects faced delays based on power, cooling, and networking issues. Larger deals can also pressure margins.
Are Hedge Funds Positioned for the AI Buildout?
Insider Monkey’s database shows 63 hedge funds held CoreWeave at the end of the first quarter of 2026,up from 58 in the previous quarter. Super Micro was held by 49 hedge funds, up from 39 in the previous quarter. The positioning suggests how institutional investors have already been modestly confident on durable AI infrastructure demand before the latest earnings reports strengthened the thesis.
Short interest, however, paints a different picture. SMCI has roughly 18.12% of the public float, albeit down roughly 5.9% from the previous reporting period. For CRWV, short interest stands at 20.41% of the public float, signifying the ongoing debate over heavy debt buildouts and capital intensity.
Bottomline
CRWV and SMCI are sending out the same message: AI infrastructure demand isn’t slowing down any time soon. The bigger question now isn’t whether the demand exists, but whether companies can turn this demand into sustainable profits.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of CRWV and SMCI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CRWV and SMCI and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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