February wasn't the best month for the S&P 500. The stock market's most followed (and important) index finished the month down 1.42%, lowering its year-to-date return through February to 1.24%.
Despite the S&P 500's lackluster February, not all stocks in the index followed the same trend. Two companies, in particular, had great months: Super Micro Computer (SMCI +3.55%) and Intel (INTC 0.02%).
Super Micro Computer finished February up 45.37%, while Intel finished the month up 22.13%.
What caused the stock-price increases in Super Micro Computer and Intel?
Rarely is there one singular event that causes huge jumps in a company's stock price, but both Intel and Supermicro had two key events that led to their great performances in February.
Super Micro Computer's spike can be attributed to the company's addressing the concerns about its financial reporting. For a while, it was at risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange because of late financial reporting and potential irregularities in its accounting.
It was able to avoid a potential delisting by filing its audited financial reports by the Feb. 25 deadline it had been given. It also helps that the financial report showed that the company's fiscal year 2024 revenue had more than doubled to $14.9 billion.
Intel's gains can be attributed to new confidence in a push by the Trump administration for domestic chip production (an industry dominated by foreign company Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).
Intel has largely missed out on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom that other big tech stocks have benefited from, so renewed confidence in the company's ability to earn its place in the emerging technology has brought many investors back on board.
