Retail investors surveyed by Stocktwits split their votes between Oracle (ORCL) and IREN as top AI infrastructure plays, each capturing 39% among roughly 3,800 participants. Bloom Energy (BE) received 15% and Hut 8 (HUT) garnered 7%. Year-to-date, Hut 8 stocks are up 96.9% and Bloom Energy stocks are up 99.7%, while IREN stocks are down 5.9% and Oracle stocks have fallen 38%. The divergence reflects retail investors looking beyond recent stock performance when selecting AI data center investments. At the time of writing, IREN gained 4.2%, ORCL shares edged 0.9% higher, BE stock rose 4.6%, and HUT shares climbed 3.5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday. AI-driven data center spending continues to dominate market conversations as traders seek the next infrastructure winner.
Retail Investors Favor ORCL and IREN in Stocktwits Poll
Among roughly 3,800 investors surveyed, IREN and Oracle emerged as the clear favorites, each capturing 39% of the vote. Bloom Energy received 15%, while Hut 8 garnered the remaining 7%. This contrasts with the stocks' year-to-date returns: Hut 8 stocks are up 96.9%, and Bloom Energy stocks are up 99.7%, while IREN stocks are down 5.9% and Oracle stocks have fallen 38%.
One user said Oracle has the biggest "bounce back potential," while another called it a "money printing machine." One user said IREN is a "real contender" to be one of the best performers for the remainder of the year. Another user highlighted Bloom Energy's order backlog, along with increasing product orders, as signaling accelerating demand.
Retail sentiment surrounding ORCL stocks on Stocktwits turned 'bullish' from 'extremely bullish' a day earlier. Retail sentiment for IREN stocks improved to 'extremely bullish,' while sentiment for HUT stocks turned 'bullish' from 'neutral.' Retail sentiment for BE stocks on Stocktwits remained 'bullish' over the past 24 hours.
William Blair Adds Oracle to Conviction List
William Blair added Oracle to its conviction list, arguing that the company's $638 billion remaining performance obligation (RPO) backlog and increasingly diversified customer base continue to support a compelling long-term AI growth story. Oracle has faced pressure over its debt load and investor concerns around AI infrastructure spending.
IREN Signs $2.8 Billion AI Cloud Contract and Hut 8 Secures $9.8 Billion Lease
On Monday, IREN signed a $2.8 billion multi-year AI cloud contract with several leading AI developers and raised its year-end AI cloud annualized revenue run-rate target to $4 billion, from $3.7 billion. The company's growing customer base now includes Microsoft, Nvidia, and Perplexity, among other top AI companies. Goldman Sachs said the new agreements demonstrate improving customer diversification and reinforce expectations of tight AI infrastructure supply and favorable pricing.
Hut 8 strengthened its AI infrastructure business by commercializing the second phase of its Beacon Point data center campus in Texas through a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease covering 352 megawatts of IT capacity. Needham analyst John Todaro described the deal as one of the strongest colocation agreements signed this year.
Clear Street Analysts Cite Temporary Dislocation for Bloom Energy
Analysts at Clear Street believe Bloom Energy's recent share price weakness reflects a temporary dislocation caused by the broader AI stock selloff, permitting delays, and supply chain concerns. They pointed to a recent $1.7 billion infrastructure investment supporting the deployment of Bloom's fuel-cell technology for AI cloud data centers. The stock has fallen more than 28% in July.
FAQ
What did the Stocktwits poll reveal about retail investor preferences for AI infrastructure stocks?
Among roughly 3,800 investors surveyed by Stocktwits, IREN and Oracle each captured 39% of the vote, Bloom Energy received 15%, and Hut 8 garnered 7%. This reflects retail investors' focus on AI data center plays despite diverging year-to-date stock performance.
What contracts did IREN and Hut 8 announce for AI infrastructure expansion?
On Monday, IREN signed a $2.8 billion multi-year AI cloud contract with several leading AI developers and raised its year-end AI cloud annualized revenue run-rate target to $4 billion. Hut 8 commercialized the second phase of its Beacon Point data center campus in Texas through a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease covering 352 megawatts of IT capacity.
Why did William Blair add Oracle to its conviction list?
William Blair added Oracle to its conviction list, citing the company's $638 billion remaining performance obligation (RPO) backlog and increasingly diversified customer base as supporting a compelling long-term AI growth story.
