"AI Cloud" is making a comeback again! From 2026 to now, CoreWeave has surged over 40%, and Nebius has risen nearly 30%.
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After the previous round of rapid surges and declines, trading around AI infrastructure, data centers, and high-performance computing—the “AI Cloud”—is returning, with capital once again flowing into the purest beneficiaries on the computing power supply side.
Since 2026, CoreWeave has risen by over 40%, Nebius by nearly 30%, and Iren, which covers both high-performance data centers and Bitcoin mining operations, has surged more than 53%.
The key clues driving this rebound are concentrated in two points: improvement in profit expectations and an “upward breakout” in price trends. More importantly, strong signals from the chip end are providing external endorsement for the “AI Cloud.”
According to Zacks Research, TSMC’s better-than-expected quarterly performance and upward revision of its 2026 capital expenditures have reinforced the view that AI demand continues to expand, easing the most sensitive risk points for the AI cloud service model on both the supply and demand sides, and driving market risk appetite back into more specialized tracks of AI cloud computing power.
Capital Returns to the Computing Power Supply Side
At the end of 2025, Iren, Nebius, and CoreWeave were the most aggressive winners amid the AI infrastructure boom, each recording triple-digit growth within months.
As risk appetite cooled and capital withdrew from speculative sectors, these stocks experienced steep corrections. However, according to Zacks Investment Research, this trend has begun to change recently. Stock prices have stabilized and begun to rise, and profit expectations and outlooks have started to improve.
Iren is defined as a vertically integrated digital infrastructure company, whose business covers high-performance data centers and Bitcoin mining, supported by renewable energy generation. Its scalable infrastructure directly benefits from increasing computing power and electricity demand driven by AI and data-intensive workloads.
Zacks Research notes that Iren’s sales are expected to grow by about 120% this year, with an additional increase of about 151% next year. Technically, after forming a W-bottom, the stock price broke upward — considered a typical feature of the early stage of an uptrend.
Nebius, positioned as an AI-oriented infrastructure and cloud service provider, is supported by upgraded profit expectations. Looking ahead, the market expects its sales to grow 376% next year.
As for CoreWeave—the fuse for last year’s “AI crash”—it has completed its first chip delivery for OpenAI at its Texas data center.Wallstreetcn mentioned, according to CoreWeave executives, that the company went from “delivering a few racks” in mid-November last year to over 16,000 GPUs by the end of December.
This progress marks that CoreWeave is emerging from the revenue hit caused by data center supplier delays in the fourth quarter of last year.
TSMC Earnings Provide Fundamental Support
For new cloud service providers like CoreWeave and Nebius, TSMC’s performance validates their business models.
Since the entire value proposition of AI cloud service providers depends on acquiring cutting-edge AI chips, TSMC’s explosive quarterly results and forward guidance have alleviated two major risks.
On the supply side, TSMC’s record manufacturing yields and capacity expansion mean that CoreWeave and Nebius can fulfill their multi-billion dollar backlogs.
On the demand intensity side, when the world’s largest foundry raises its 2026 capital expenditures to between $52 billion and $56 billion, it indicates that technology companies are still placing massive, long-term orders for AI chips.
TSMC’s gross margin reached 62.3%, proving that the industry is not only growing but also extremely profitable, largely quelling concerns about an “AI bubble.”
Zacks Investment Research notes that volatility in the “AI Cloud” segment remains the norm, but judging from stock price behavior and changing expectations, market risk appetite is shifting back toward AI infrastructure and the more crowded “AI Cloud” trading range, with signs of capital rotation worth continuous monitoring.
Risk Disclosure and DisclaimerThe market carries risk, investments require caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice nor takes into account the individual investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of any user. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article fit their particular circumstances. Investments made based on this are at your own risk.
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