While Bitcoin and Ethereum shed close to 40% of their value over the past year, AXT Inc. rocketed upward by more than 5,100%, emerging as one of the most remarkable AI-related success stories in financial markets this cycle.
We examine what AXT does, what fueled its explosive rise, and how it stacks up against Bitcoin and Ethereum during a punishing year for crypto markets.
How AXT Inc. Surged Over 5,100% in Just 12 Months
AXT Inc. is a California-headquartered semiconductor firm that produces high-performance compound substrates. Its leading product is Indium Phosphide, along with Gallium Arsenide and Germanium — all essential materials for cutting-edge photonic and optical applications tied to AI.
The figures tell the story clearly. AXTI was trading around $1.74 in June 2025, then soared to nearly $89 by early June 2026 — a gain exceeding 5,100% over that stretch.
The stock briefly climbed to an all-time peak above $140 on May 22, 2026, before pulling back roughly 35%. Even following that decline, AXTI’s yearly gains remain extraordinary and place it among the top performers across the entire stock market.
The surge was fueled by an explosion in AI infrastructure spending. Hyperscalers such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta ramped up data center builds at a rapid pace, creating a record order backlog for AXT and raising expectations for significant capacity expansions ahead.
AXT’s Indium Phosphide substrates are used in next-generation lasers and optical transceivers operating at 800G and 1.6T speeds. These parts enable ultrafast connections inside modern AI data centers, making them vital to the broader ecosystem.
The company commands roughly 40% of the worldwide Indium Phosphide supply. With few viable alternatives available in the near term, AXTI holds uncommon pricing power and a near-monopoly position in a niche but critical segment of the AI infrastructure supply chain.
In its Q1 2026 earnings release on April 30, AXT Inc. (AXTI) reported revenue of $26.9 million, a 39% year-over-year increase from $19.4 million.
The company dramatically improved its gross margin to 29.6% (up from negative 6.4% in Q1 2025), while trimming its GAAP net loss to $1.6 million ($0.03 per share), surpassing analyst forecasts.
Robust demand for Indium Phosphide substrates from AI data centers powered the results, with a record backlog surpassing $100 million.
How Bitcoin and Ethereum Compare Over the Same Year
Bitcoin and Ethereum told a very different story. The top cryptocurrency was trading near $110,000 a year ago and now hovers around $60,700 — a drop of roughly 40% over the same twelve-month span.
The situation deteriorated sharply this week. Bitcoin endured a massive liquidation event, plunging more than 17% in a single week and slipping below $60,000, nearing yearly lows that few major investors had anticipated.
The macro environment offered little support. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows exceeding $1.7 billion in this week alone — the largest weekly figure in over a year, per SosoValue data. At the same time, a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report dampened hopes for imminent rate cuts.
Ethereum has traced a similar downward path. The token was trading near $2,685 a year ago and now sits around $1,560, a decline of roughly 35% over the same broader twelve-month period.
This week was equally harsh for ETH. The token tumbled more than 22% in seven days, breaching key technical support levels and mirroring the same risk-averse mood now prevailing across both crypto and traditional financial markets.
The AXTI story drives home a powerful point. In the current AI cycle, select specialized “picks and shovels” suppliers can generate returns that far outpace even the most prominent crypto narratives — including Bitcoin and Ethereum — over a comparable investment horizon.
Still, AXTI remains highly volatile. Stretched valuations, heavy reliance on the AI sector, and significant manufacturing exposure in China are genuine risks. The trajectory simply underscores the enormous potential gains tucked away in the less obvious corners of the AI supply chain.
The post This Hidden AI Stock Up 5,100% While Bitcoin and Ethereum Lost Nearly 40% appeared first on BeInCrypto.
