AI-linked shares led Wall Street's sharpest gains on Thursday, with Arm, Rigetti Computing, IBM, Bloom Energy, and Spotify rallying as investors moved beyond Nvidia and bid up companies tied to chips, quantum computing, power supply, and AI-driven products.
Arm Surges Past 0 Billion Market Cap
Arm's U.S.-listed shares jumped 16.1% to $298.16, pushing its market value above $300 billion. The chip designer reported record fiscal 2026 revenue of $4.92 billion and said data-center royalties more than doubled year over year. Its AGI CPU, a data-center chip aimed at 'agentic AI' systems, positions Arm closer to Intel and AMD in central processors while keeping Nvidia as the benchmark for AI hardware economics. Chief Executive Rene Haas called Arm's move into its own AI chip 'a very pivotal moment for the company.' Arm expects the AGI CPU to generate roughly $15 billion in annual revenue in about five years, with Meta as lead partner and OpenAI, Cloudflare, SAP, and SK Telecom among customers.
Quantum Computing Stocks Surge on Government Incentives
Quantum computing stocks caught a separate bid after the U.S. Commerce Department signed letters of intent for $2.013 billion in CHIPS Act incentives across nine companies. Rigetti Computing rose 30.6% to $22.04, while IBM gained 12.5% to $253.02. The planned awards include $1 billion for IBM, $375 million for GlobalFoundries, and up to $100 million for Rigetti, with the government set to receive minority, non-controlling stakes.
Power Infrastructure Stocks Rally
Power was another AI bottleneck that traders bought. Bloom Energy shares rose 9.0% to $307.61 after Nebius said Bloom's fuel cells would provide 328 megawatts of installed capacity for AI infrastructure this year. The systems will provide 'behind-the-meter' electricity, meaning power produced on site rather than pulled through the wider grid. 'Power remains a key constraint for AI infrastructure build-outs,' said Nebius infrastructure chief Andrey Korolenko.
Spotify Rides AI Wave with New Features
Spotify was the outlier but still fit the AI tape. Shares rose 13.1% to $490.00 after the company laid out 2030 targets and announced a Universal Music deal that will let premium users create AI-generated covers and remixes from participating artists' catalogs. Co-CEO Alex Norstrom told Reuters the plan was built on 'consent, credit and compensation.' Spotify also expects mid-teens compound annual revenue growth through 2030, gross margins of 35% to 40%, and operating margins above 20%.
Nvidia Results Anchor the AI Trade
Nvidia gave investors the anchor. The chipmaker reported record quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% from a year earlier, with data-center revenue of $75.2 billion, and forecast second-quarter revenue of about $91 billion. Its shares still slipped about 1.8% to $219.50 by the close, a sign that even strong numbers must clear a high bar.
Deere Falls Despite Earnings Beat
Deere showed the other side of the market. Its shares fell 5.2% to $531.54 even after the farm-equipment maker beat quarterly profit estimates, as it kept full-year net income guidance at $4.5 billion to $5.0 billion and pointed to still-weak demand for large farm machinery. 'Investors are still looking for signs of recovery in the agriculture segments,' said Oppenheimer analyst Kristen Owen. Deere's construction business is getting help from data-center buildout, but farmers remain squeezed by weak crop prices and volatile input costs.
The risk is that the AI trade is starting to price in near-perfect execution. Nvidia excluded China data-center compute revenue from its next-quarter outlook, Arm has warned it still needs more supply for demand beyond the first $1 billion of its new chip, quantum computing remains technically early, and Bloom must deliver large power projects on schedule. Deere's drop was a reminder that strong earnings do not protect a stock when the cycle still looks soft.
