These S&P 500 stocks have soared the most during the AI-driven May rally
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.The S&P 500 rose 5.3% in May, driven by a 16% surge in the information-technology sector fueled by AI infrastructure demand. Semiconductors led gains with the SOXX ETF up 24%, while software stocks also rallied. Dell topped individual stock performers with shares doubling, followed by Datadog's 82% gain. Microsoft lagged with only a 9.1% increase despite its market cap size.
By Philip van Doorn
Even stocks in the beleaguered software industry have been on fire
Datadog, Miron and Dell were some of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 during May.
The May rally for U.S. stocks has been nothing short of breathtaking - unless you have made a point of avoiding the information-technology sector.
Here is how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 SPX were performing for May through 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday. The full index is at the bottom of the table. All price changes in this article exclude dividends.
The S&P 500 was up 5.3% for May, even though all but three of its 11 sectors were down for the month. The May rally was, of course, led by the information-technology sector, which was up 16%.
Semiconductor manufacturers remained an obvious play for investors as the build-out of infrastructure to support generative artificial intelligence rolled on. The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX was up 24% for May and up 89% for 2026, following the exchange-traded fund's 40% gain in 2025.
But the tech gains weren't confined to semiconductors. The S&P 500 Software and Services Index was up 14.8% for May. This industry group had been down 15.7% for 2026 through April, according to data supplied by LSEG.
The S&P 500's top 20 for May
These 20 stocks among the S&P 500 showed the largest gains for May through 11:15 a.m. ET on Friday:
Dell topped (DELL) the list with shares doubling in May and up 29% Friday morning after a stellar earnings report.
Software developers on the list were led by Datadog (DDOG), which was up 82% during May.
Microsoft (MSFT) - the third-largest stock in the S&P 500 by market capitalization - didn't make the list as its stock was up only 9.1% for May. The stock had been down 15.7% for 2026 through May. On Friday morning, Microsoft was still down 8% for 2026, following a gain of 14.7% in 2025.
Click on the tickers for more about each company.
Read: Tomi Kilgore's detailed guide to the information available on the MarketWatch quote page
Don't miss: This stock-market strategy is a smart way to play Micron and the memory-chip rally
-Philip van Doorn
This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-29-26 1306ET