Shares of optical networking companies soared on Tuesday, with Coherent Corp (COHR) notching an all-time high of $427.29, up ~17.7%, after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang delivered bullish remarks on the role of optical interconnects in next-generation AI data centers.
While much of the spotlight fell on Marvell Technology (MRVL), which jumped 25% to a market cap around $241 billion, Coherent — the actual manufacturer of optical transceivers — quietly surged past previous records. The stock closed the session with a gain of 17.74%, pushing its market capitalization above $83 billion.
Huang’s comments came during Marvell’s Computex 2026 keynote in Taipei. He stated that data centers are being “rewired around optical interconnects,” stressing the limitations of copper as AI workloads expand. “We should use copper as much as we can, for as long as we can, but copper has its limits... You use optics wherever you must, you use copper wherever you can,” Huang said.
The remarks lit a fire under optical networking stocks. Lumentum Holdings (LITE) rose 13%, Corning (GLW) gained 13%, and the Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF climbed alongside. Coherent’s surge was backed by solid fundamentals: fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $1.81 billion, up 21% year-over-year, with book-to-bill ratios in data center products exceeding 4x in recent quarters. The company also benefits from a $2 billion strategic equity investment by NVIDIA in early 2026, which included multi-year purchase commitments.
Analyst sentiment has been warming, though price targets — the three most recent ratings average $410.67 — now trail the stock’s closing level. Coherent’s 52-week range tells the full story: from $76.88 a year ago to roughly $427, a gain of approximately 455%. Year-to-date, the stock is up about 126%.
NVIDIA’s capital allocation underscores the trend: $2 billion each into Lumentum and Coherent, $500 million into Corning, and participation in Ayar Labs’ $500 million funding round. Tuesday’s rally highlights that the AI spending boom is rewarding not just chipmakers but also the suppliers of critical networking hardware.
