AXT, T1 Energy and Babcock & Wilcox Soaring Higher On Friday

Three second-derivative AI plays are successful absorption Friday morning. AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI) is trading higher alongside a wide rally successful optics names, T1 Energy (NYSE:TE) is bouncing connected the home star argumentation trade, and Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises (NYSE:BW) is drafting attraction astir a caller organization disclosure. The connective tissue: AI capex is present pulling successful materials, powerfulness gear, and vigor suppliers good beyond the evident spot names.

AXT Rides the Optical Connectivity Trade

AXT is up astir 3.1% today, astir $79.83, aft an Aug. 13 adjacent of $77.45. The catalyst is simply a assemblage move. Applied Optoelectronics is up astir 5%, Lumentum astir 4%, and Corning astir 4.5%. AXT makes compound semiconductor substrates, and its indium phosphide wafers are a cardinal input for the high-speed optical transceivers and silicon photonics utilized successful AI information centers. When the optical connectivity commercialized runs, AXT runs with it arsenic the upstream materials supplier.

The cardinal lawsuit got a caller propulsion from Q2 FY26 results reported July 30, 2026, erstwhile gross deed $47.59M, up 164.8% twelvemonth implicit year, and CEO Morris Young said the institution "reached an inflection point" connected information halfway optical connectivity demand. The Q2 details are laid retired successful AXT's 8-K filing connected SEC.gov. Investors should enactment the setup is stretched: YTD +373.7%, one-month +34.5%, one-year +3,453%. That one-year fig is bonzer and cuts some ways.

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T1 Energy Bounces connected the Tariff Backdrop

T1 Energy is up astir 9.5% today. T1 reported Q2 FY26 connected Wednesday, August 12, 2026, with gross of $250.13M beating the $198.84M statement by astir 26% and absorption guiding toward the precocious extremity of its 3.1 to 4.2 GW accumulation range. First cells from the 2.1 GW G2_Austin fab are expected successful Q1 2027.

The much apt thread contiguous is policy. Trump launched important caller star tariffs connected Aug. 7, 2026, and Reuters reported Aug. 4, 2026 that the US was weighing a polysilicon terms level and tariffs to antagonistic China. Both are protective of the nonstop home proviso concatenation T1 is building. CEO Dan Barcelo told analysts the "framework aligns with T1's committedness to found the archetypal end-to-end home polysilicon star proviso concatenation built connected starring US technology." Read this arsenic interpretation, not confirmed cause. Even aft today's pop, TE is down astir 28% twelvemonth to day and down astir 30% implicit the past month. It's a bounce truthful far, with the longer inclination inactive down.