{"id":66861,"date":"2026-05-04T02:00:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tradestation.com\/insights\/?p=66861"},"modified":"2026-05-04T08:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:17:47","slug":"growth-stocks-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tradestation.com\/insights\/2026\/05\/04\/growth-stocks-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Growth Stocks Return as Nasdaq Breaks Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growth stocks could be staging a comeback as May begins.<\/p>\n

The S&P 500 rose 1 percent between Friday, April 24, and Friday, May 1. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 outperformed for the fifth straight week, which may confirm growth stocks have regained favor after an extended pause.<\/p>\n

Most of the largest growth companies announced quarterly results. Some rose and others fell, but the common theme was a doubling down on AI. Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) increased capital-spending plans by 8.9 percent, according to estimates by CNBC and Bank of America.<\/p>\n

AMZN closed at a new record high as AI workloads boosted AWS and AI tools helped drive 22 percent growth in its high-margin advertising business. GOOGL rose the most in three years thanks to strong demand for its cloud-based AI tools.<\/p>\n

GOOGL was also the ninth-biggest gainer in the S&P 500. Seven of the other top eight had some connection to AI and technology. The boom in data storage and memory lifted Seagate Technology (STX) and SanDisk (SNDK). Intel (INTC) kept climbing on CPU demand<\/a> (for agentic AI). Qualcomm (QCOM) embraced custom AI chips and CPUs, overcoming weakness in its legacy wireless business.<\/p>\n

Some non-tech companies helping power data centers also jumped: Caterpillar (CAT)<\/a>, Quanta Services (PWR) and Generac (GNRC). Bloom Energy (BE), which isn’t in the S&P 500, also surged as data centers embrace fuel cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Biggest Gainers in the S&P 500 Last Week<\/strong><\/caption>\n
Centene (CNC)<\/td>\n+28%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seagate Technology (STX)<\/td>\n+24%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NXP Semiconductor (NXPI)<\/td>\n+21%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intel (INTC)<\/td>\n+21%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SanDisk (SNDK)<\/td>\n+20%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source: TradeStation data<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Apple’s Asian Acceleration<\/h2>\n

Apple (AAPL) contributed to the Nasdaq’s gains with better-than-expected earnings, revenue and guidance. The top line grew 17 percent, its fastest pace since the pandemic.<\/p>\n

iPhone sales rose 22 percent, and have increased at a double-digit pace in three of the last four quarters. (It was flat to negative for years before.) This is potentially consistent with a strengthening iPhone upgrade cycle.<\/p>\n

Growth also accelerated in “Rest of Asia Pacific” to 25 percent from 18 percent in the previous quarter. The region excludes<\/em> China and Japan, but includes<\/em> India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Those countries have about 2 billion people, with iPhone market share below 10 percent.<\/p>\n

“I’m over the moon excited about India,” CEO Tim Cook said on the conference call. “There are a lot of people moving into the middle class there.”<\/p>\n

AAPL’s smaller businesses like Services and Mac beat estimates, as well. Mac minis and Mac Studios benefited from developers using them in combination with agentic AI tools like OpenClaw.<\/p>\n

Those points helped establish the stock at a new record weekly close<\/a> for the first time since November, which may reflect longer-term bullishness. This could be important for megacaps and the broader Nasdaq because AAPL is the third-largest U.S. company by market cap.<\/p>\n

Roku, Reddit<\/h2>\n

Last week was potentially interesting because some non-hardware companies rallied on strong results. That could be more consistent with a return to long-duration growth stocks following a long period of underperformance.<\/p>\n

Video streamer Roku (ROKU) and software company Twilio (TWLO) closed at four-year highs. Social media platform Reddit (RDDT) also jumped. All three companies reported strong earnings, supported in various ways by AI.<\/p>\n

Oracle (ORCL)<\/a> also bounced above $160.14, a weekly close on February 13 that represented the top of its range in the two subsequent months. If old resistance has become new support, it could be meaningful for the broader technology sector because ORCL’s slide since September was a major drag on the broader group.<\/p>\n

Even the economic data confirmed strong AI investment: Gross domestic product rose 2 percent in the first quarter, with computer equipment and software accounting for almost two-thirds of the increase. Another report showed core capital goods orders up 3.3 percent in March. That was the highest reading since June 2020 and the second-highest reading in the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Biggest Decliners in the S&P 500 Last Week<\/strong><\/caption>\n
Teradyne (TER)<\/td>\n-17%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Builders FirstSource (BLDR)<\/td>\n-16%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pentair (PNR)<\/td>\n-14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Robinhood Markets (HOOD)<\/td>\n-13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE)<\/td>\n-13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Source: TradeStation data<\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Centene (CNC) rose the most in the S&P 500 last week after medical costs were lower than feared. (The health insurer also had its best week in almost 20 years.)<\/p>\n

Energy stocks were the biggest gainers overall as oil climbed. Software companies, pharmaceuticals and solar energy also climbed.<\/p>\n

Materials, homebuilders and precious metals fared the worst.<\/p>\n

Strong April<\/h2>\n

Last week also marked the end of April, which had some noteworthy achievements:<\/p>\n