On August 1, 2026, AI concept stocks in the A-share market saw a full-blown interim report rally. As of the midday close, the artificial intelligence index surged 3.2%, while the computing power leasing concept index soared 5.8%, with many stocks hitting limit-up or rising over 10%. Market sentiment was high, capital flooded in, and the AI sector once again became the market's focus.
Impressive Interim Earnings Previews: AI Industry Enters Delivery Phase
The direct catalyst for this round of rally was the release of 2026 interim earnings previews by multiple AI-listed companies. According to Wind data, among AI concept stocks that have disclosed previews, over 70% expect net profit to increase year over year, with particularly strong performance in segments such as computing power leasing, AI chips, and data centers.
Take a leading computing power leasing company as an example: it expects first-half net profit to increase more than 200% year over year, far exceeding market expectations. The company said that thanks to the explosive demand for large-model training and inference, computing power leasing prices remain high and orders are full. Another AI server maker also previewed net profit growth of over 150% year over year, mainly due to a sharp increase in GPU server shipments.
Computing Power Leasing Leads Gains with Strong AI Infrastructure Demand
As the most flexible segment in the AI industry chain, computing power leasing delivered the most eye-catching performance today. Multiple stocks in the sector hit limit-up, with trading volume significantly expanding. Industry analysts believe that as domestic intelligent computing centers accelerate construction, computing power supply remains tight, rental prices are expected to stay high, and the earnings certainty of related companies is relatively strong.
From an industry chain perspective, computing power leasing's upstream is AI chips, midstream is servers and IDCs, and downstream is various AI applications. Currently, AI computing power demand shows diversified and large-scale characteristics. Not only are internet giants increasing investment, but traditional industries are also beginning to deploy large-model applications, driving continued growth in computing power demand.
Institutional Funds Accelerate Inflow, Leaders Favored
On the capital front, main capital net inflow into AI concept stocks exceeded 12 billion yuan today, with significant position increases in sub-sectors such as computing power leasing, AI chips, and AI software. Dragon-Tiger List data shows that multiple limit-up stocks were bought by institutional dedicated seats, and northbound capital also accelerated inflows near the close.
A public fund manager said the AI industry trend has been validated by earnings, making now a good time to position. He is particularly bullish on leading companies with core technology, quality customer structures, and strong earnings delivery capabilities, believing they will continue to benefit from the AI wave.
Obvious Sector Rotation: Focus on Earnings-Valuation Match
Notably, the AI sector experienced clear divergence today. The computing power segment saw the strong get stronger, while some AI application stocks with prior large gains pulled back. Analysts point out that during the interim report season, the market places more emphasis on earnings certainty. Pure concept speculation is unsustainable, and companies with earnings that match valuations are more favored by funds.
A securities firm strategy analyst said the AI sector has moved from the early theme-investing phase to an earnings-driven phase, and future stock selection will focus more on fundamentals. Investors are advised to focus on targets with interim earnings beating expectations and continuously improving industry prosperity while staying alert to pullback risks in high-flying stocks.
Industry Interpretation: AI Trend Improving, Vast Long-Term Space
From an industry trend perspective, AI is moving from technological breakthroughs to large-scale applications. Whether it's large models, intelligent driving, AI healthcare, or AI finance, all demonstrate huge commercial value. In particular, the combination of AI with emerging fields such as cryptocurrency and DeFi is becoming a new growth point.
Taking DeFAI (decentralized AI finance) as an example, AI technology is reshaping lending, risk control, asset management, and other links, and related listed companies are expected to see valuation improvements. However, investors should also be aware of potential risks such as intensifying competition, the pace of technology iteration, and policy regulation.
Outlook: Watch Sustainability of Interim Report Rally
Looking ahead, the interim report rally may continue for some time, but one must guard against adjustment pressure after expectations are fulfilled. Market participants suggest investors remain rational and avoid blindly chasing highs, focusing on sub-sector leaders with strong earnings certainty and reasonable valuations, such as computing power leasing, AI chips, and data elements.
Overall, the explosion of the AI concept stock interim report rally results from the combined effect of industry trends and earnings delivery. Against the backdrop of accelerating AI technology penetration, the sector's medium- to long-term investment value remains significant, but short-term volatility is unavoidable. Investors should allocate according to their own risk tolerance.
