20 hottest tech stocks: week ended 16 October 2026

A Tesla Optimus robot at a Tesla store in Zurich, Switzerland. Photo: Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Anthropic

Anthropic’s third-quarter revenue hit $16.8 billion (£12.7 billion), up from $11.5 billion in the three months to June, according to the Financial Times. The AI giant reportedly told this to investors ahead of its upcoming IPO, which could take place as soon as next month. 

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However, for some traders, this revenue figure was disappointing versus previous expectations as some Anthropic customers like Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) switch to their own AI tools instead. Investors attended Anthropic’s offices in San Francisco for a full day of presentations on Wednesday as the maker of Claude looks to drum up support for its upcoming mega-flotation.

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Micron

Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) is the most-bought tech stock on the ii platform so far this week, rising three places versus last week. The memory chip company has struggled in recent sessions alongside other stocks in the sector like SK hynix Inc ADR (NASDAQ:SKHY) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd DR (LSE:SMSN). The sell-off was sparked by competition concerns after Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies announced a new rival product.

It has also been a very volatile week for the AI trade more broadly on the back of strong US inflation data and concerns about heavy AI spending and borrowing.

Amazon

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is among the most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform this week. It is reportedly in talks to acquire Decart for around $7 billion, according to TheWall Street Journal. The takeover target is a start-up that works on software to make AI models run more efficiently. It is also known for technology that allows AI-generated interactive environments to respond in real time, with potential applications in areas like gaming.

According to Bloomberg, Anthropic had been interested in acquiring Decart, but it decided not to pursue the deal after carrying out due diligence. The Wall Street Journal said Decart was valued at nearly $4 billion in May.

Shares in Amazon are up 11% year-to-date. The company will report earnings on 28 October.

20 most-bought tech stocks on the ii platform

Source: interactive investor, 12-14 October 2026.

Other news

ASML

Shares in ASML Holding NV (EURONEXT:ASML) rallied on Wednesday after the Dutch equipment supplier to chipmakers issued a strong outlook. The producer of EUV lithography machines which are used in the production of chips said it is already seeing strong interest to place orders as far out as 2029 and even 2030.

Meanwhile, third-quarter net profit hit 4.96 billion euros (£4.19 billion), beating forecasts for 4.1 billion euros, while net sales roughly met expectations, landing at 11.72 billion euros. The company also improved its full-year sales guidance from at least 43 billion euros to between 44 and 45 billion euros.

Shares in Europe’s most valuable company have soared this year, fuelled by the AI boom that has sent chip and chip-related stocks sharply higher.

According to Refinitiv, there is a consensus buy recommendation on the stock among analysts with an average price target up 32% from the current share price.

Week ahead

Tesla

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will report third-quarter earnings after the US market close on Wednesday 21 October. Elon Musk has been trying to reposition the business away from the highly competitive traditional car market, more towards AI and robotics instead. Robotaxis, FSD (fully self-driving) software and the Optimus robot are likely to overshadow Tesla’s traditional car earnings numbers.

Investors will be looking to see what progress Tesla has made in its robotaxi roll-out, having reached nearly 2.5 million cumulative paid miles by the end of Q2. But it faces stiff competition from the current US market leader, Waymo which boasts a significantly larger fleet.

While FSD technology is currently available in the US, Tesla is pushing for more approvals across Europe. FSD currently has 1.48 million active users as of Q2, up 56% year-on-year – this figure will be closely watched.

The Optimus robot, meanwhile, is a more ambitious project that even Musk admits will be hard to manufacture at scale.

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While AI and robotics are attracting the most attention, Tesla’s traditional vehicle business remains critical and has been showing signs of rebounding. Third-quarter deliveries reached 486,532, beating expectations and putting Tesla on track for its first year of positive deliveries growth in three. Tesla’s gross margins, however, have been under pressure amid vehicle price cuts, stiff competition, and changes to electric vehicle subsidies.

Last quarter, Tesla delivered a mixed set of results, with a beat on the top line but a miss on the bottom line. Shares fell sharply on earnings day in July after Tesla reported a negative free cash flow figure of $1.1 billion for the second quarter, spooking investors. Tesla says it is in a “big investment cycle” involving plans to spend £25 billion this year, more than doubling year-on-year. This has sparked investor nervousness about whether demand will keep up with the heavy jump in capex. 

On a separate note, a research note from Dan Levy, an analyst at Barclays, suggests a merger with SpaceX could potentially be announced this year.  

Shares in Tesla are down around 15% so far this year, underperforming the wider US market. After a challenging first half, shares have been rebounding by over 28% since the lows at the end of July.

Analysts are divided in terms of their assessment of Tesla. There is a slim majority of buy recommendations at 23, versus 21 holds and 5 sells, according to Refinitiv.