On Thursday (May 21), during the U.S. stock market, optical communication-related stocks surged across the board. AXT (AXTI.US) rose 11.16% to $116.28, leading the sector, with an intraday high of 11.84% reaching $117.00; Lumentum (LITE.US) increased 8.84% to $944.80, with a peak intraday gain of 9.60% to $951.40, and its 2x leveraged ETF (LITX.US) rose 17.31% to $46.21 (with an intraday high increase of 18.81%), while the inverse ETF (LITZ.US) fell 17.78%.
Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI.US) climbed 5.78% to $174.81, with an intraday high of 10.24% reaching $182.18, and its derivative AAOX.US rose 11.76% (with an intraday fluctuation of nearly 21%). Coherent (COHR.US) increased 4.57% to $374.90, with a peak gain of 5.94%; Corning (GLW.US) rose 4.44% to $188.71, with an intraday high increase of 5.04%, setting a new high for the year; Nokia (NOK.US) increased 3.11% to $14.04.
On the news front, the surge in the optical communication sector was mainly driven by three positive factors:
First, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) released its Q1 earnings after the market closed yesterday, with revenue growth of 85% year-on-year, exceeding expectations, and the Q2 outlook also surpassing expectations. Additionally, there are reports circulating in the market that AI cloud service providers like Nebius are raising GPU computing power rental prices, accelerating the pace of AI data center construction and further amplifying the demand for high-bandwidth optical interconnects. Lumentum, Coherent, and other leading high-speed optical modules and optical device manufacturers are seen as core beneficiaries of the 400G/800G/1.6T optical interconnect demand for AI data centers.
Second, Lumentum disclosed that it has ordered multiple G10-AsP MOCVD systems from Aixtron, reflecting its increased investment in expanding capacity for compound semiconductor optical devices, and the market is positively pricing its forward capacity layout; AXT, as a leader in optoelectronic semiconductor substrate materials, also benefits from the spillover demand from upstream materials.
Third, BOE and Corning (GLW.US) signed a memorandum of cooperation, and the two parties will collaborate in the field of glass-based substrate packaging—this is a key material path for NVIDIA's next-generation AI chip packaging; BOE also disclosed an investment of nearly 1 billion yuan in glass substrate packaging. Corning (GLW.US), as a partner of NVIDIA, has had its position in the AI advanced packaging track revalued by the market.
In terms of market rhythm, AXT.US opened at the previous closing price ($104.61) and continued to rise unilaterally from the opening to the day's high of $117.00, without giving any opportunity for a pullback; LITE.US had an intraday fluctuation of about 10%, with funding divergence reflected in the symmetrical large fluctuations of the leveraged ETFs LITX/LITZ

AXTI

LITE

COHR

AAOI

LITX

Optical communication stocks surged collectively. AXT (AXTI.US) rose over 11%, Lumentum (LITE.US) rose over 8% (leveraged ETF LITX rose over 17%), AAOI rose over 5%, and both Coherent and Corning (GLW.US) rose over 4%. NVIDIA's Q1 performance exceeded expectations, coupled with rumors of GPU price increases, further amplifying the demand for AI high-bandwidth optical interconnects

Movers Alert

Lumentum

Coherent Corp.

Corning

Applied Optoelectronics

Tradr 2X Long Lite Daily ETF

Tradr 2X Short LITE Daily ETF

Tradr 2X Long AAOI Daily ETF

Nokia Oyj

NVIDIA

Nebius

AIXTRON SE

BOE VARITRONIX

NVIDIA Corporation

Optical communication stocks surged collectively, AXT (AXTI.US) rose over 11%, Lumentum (LITE.US) rose over 8%