Retail investors talked up five hot stocks during the week (July 27 to July 31) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI infrastructure momentum, and corporate news flow.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and SK Hynix Inc. ADR (NASDAQ:SKHY), spanning hardware, devices, cloud, semiconductor, social networking, online retail, AI, and memory, reflected strong retail interest.

Apple

• Apple reported strong fiscal third quarter 2026 results, with record June-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year-over-year, and EPS of $2.02, driven by robust iPhone sales and solid Mac performance, plus a record installed base over 2.5 billion devices; however, it guided for a fourth-quarter revenue growth of only 9–11%, approximately 12% below expectations due to supply constraints on advanced chips and rising memory costs. It also marked Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO before the September transition to John Ternus.

• Retail investors were bullish on AAPL and discussing buying call options on the stock.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $201.50 to $344.57, trading around $308 to $334 per share, as of the publication of this article. It surged by 59.50% over the year and 28.50% in the last six months. The stock was also higher by 22.65% year-to-date.

• AAPL had a strong price trend in the medium and long terms but a weak trend in the short term with a moderate growth score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.

Microsoft

• Microsoft reported strong fiscal fourth quarter 2026 results on July 29, with revenue of $90.0 billion, up 18% YoY, beating estimates and adjusted EPS of $4.74, driven by Azure cloud growth of 43%, surpassing $100 billion annualized for the first time and Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeding 30 million paid seats; the company guided for continued cash generation in FY2027, Azure growth of ~45% next quarter, and moderated capex outlook. The capital expenditure outlook stood at $50 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 and $175 billion for calendar 2026 after an accounting change, easing AI spending concerns.

• After MSFT’s gain following its earnings, retail investors were mocking the stock for its decline on Friday.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $349.20 to $555.45, trading around $446 to $452 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 12.11% over the year and was up 4.84% in the last six months. The stock was down 6.72% YTD.

• Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that MSFT had a weak price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the short and medium terms, with a moderate value score.

Meta Platforms

• Meta reported second quarter 2026 results on July 29 with revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% YoY, beating estimates, driven by strong ad growth, but EPS of $6.18 missed expectations amid $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance costs. Free cash flow plunged 91% to $784 million due to heavy AI infrastructure spending; the company guided third-quarter revenue to $61–64 billion, midpoint below forecasts, and raised the lower end of full-year capex to $130–145 billion, sending shares down roughly 8–10% as Mark Zuckerberg defended the AI investments and potential new enterprise opportunities.

• Retail investors were bullish on META’s recovery after the stock’s post-earnings decline.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $520.26 to $796.25, trading around $538 to $548 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 22.47% over the year and dropped 24.77% in the last six months. The stock was up 18.34% YTD.

• META maintains a weak price trend over the short, long, and medium terms, with a good quality score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings.

Amazon.com

• Amazon reported second quarter 2026 results on July 30 with net sales of $200.6 billion, up 20% YoY, beating estimates and operating income of $27.5 billion, up 43%, powered by AWS revenue jumping 37% to $42.2 billion—its fastest growth in 18 quarters—while AI and custom chips businesses each surpassed $25 billion annual run rates; the company raised full-year 2026 capital expenditures to $220 billion from $200 billion due to strong AI demand and higher memory costs, guided softer third quarter sales of $197–202 billion. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted capacity constraints and record Prime delivery speeds.

• Despite the bullishness in AMZN following its earnings, some retail investors were quick to shed light on the stock’s historical performance.

• The stock had a 52-week range of $196.00 to $278.56, trading around $234 to $266 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 2.31% over the year, down 1.59% over the last six months, and up 2.03% YTD.

• According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, AMZN was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate quality score.

SK Hynix

• SK hynix reported record second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, with revenue of 79.3 trillion won, or $41.62 billion, up ~257% YoY, and operating profit of 60.5 trillion won, or $41.62 billion, up ~557% YoY, with a margin of 76% margin, driven by surging AI demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and high-value DRAM/NAND. The company outlined high-40 trillion won capital spending for the year, completed long-term supply deals with about 10 customers, and began HBM4 mass shipments while dismissing peak-demand fears, though the stock initially fell on the miss versus elevated expectations before rebounding later in the week.

• Some retail investors were pinning SK Hynix’s rebound in Korean markets to the Situational Awareness fund buyout by Ken Griffin‘s Citadel LLC.

• The stock has traded in a range of $124.80 to $194.80 and declined by 12.35% since its listing, as of the publication of this article.

• According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, SKHY was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a good growth score.

Retail focus comprised AI infrastructure momentum, earnings, and corporate news-driven narratives with broader market action during the week.

Image via Shutterstock