Lumentum Jumps 8.19% as AI Demand and Expected China Import Curbs Lift Optical Stocks

Shares of U.S. optical component makers rebounded Monday, with Lumentum (LITE) climbing 8.19% to lead S&P 500 constituents. Peer Coherent (COHR) rose 5.83% and Ciena (CIEN) gained 4.89%. Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani cited renewed investor interest after last week's selloff, with many having awaited Anthropic's IPO filing, submitted Monday, whose financials broadly boosted chip stocks. Daryanani said AI-sector earnings remain "relatively healthy" on fundamentals, pointing to Meta's equity offering and SpaceX's $40 billion commitment to fund chip and AI hardware purchases as signs the AI trade remains resilient. A potential U.S. import restriction is a second tailwind. Daryanani said the FCC is expected to limit imports of optical transceivers from overseas suppliers early next year, effectively excluding Chinese vendors from the U.S. next-generation 3.2T market. China produces roughly two-thirds of such components globally, per an expert he cited. He also flagged slower Asian supply growth of indium phosphide (InP), a semiconductor material, which could constrain Chinese suppliers. Daryanani noted AI has compressed the sector's traditional five-year cycle, with transmission speeds rising nearly annually.