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UAE retail investors rotate from software into the infrastructure powering the AI race
(MENAFN- Golin Mena) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – October 08, 2026: UAE retail investors increased their holdings in the cloud computing, memory, and semiconductor companies supporting the artificial intelligence race in the third quarter of 2026, while reducing holdings in several software companies, according to the latest data from trading and investing platform, etoro.
etoro looked at which companies saw the biggest proportionate change in holders among its UAE users quarter-on-quarter (table 1), while also looking at the 10 most held stocks in the UAE on the platform (table 2).
Oracle topped the UAE list of biggest risers, with the number of etoro users holding the stock increasing by 86% over the course of Q3. Grab Holdings ranked second (+83%). This was followed by memory and storage company Sandisk Corp/DE (+56%) and sportswear giant, Nike (+41%).
Space companies Rocket Lab (+34%) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) (+24%) ranked fifth and sixth respectively, followed by semiconductor company Broadcom in seventh (+22%). Digital advertising company Trade Desk ranked eighth (+20%), while Micron Tech ranked ninth (+20%). Uber completed the list, ranking tenth among UAE users (+16%).
Oracle’s position comes as demand for AI cloud computing continues to expand. In September, the company reported more than USD 30 billion (≈AED 110 billion) in additional AI cloud contracts during its fiscal first quarter. The presence of Broadcom, Sandisk, and Micron, among the risers also points to interest in the chips, memory, and storage needed to support AI workloads.
Josh Gilbert, Lead Analyst, Asia Pacific & Middle East at etoro, said: “UAE investors are following the AI money to where it's actually being spent, and Oracle has become one of the clearest ways to own that build-out. Oracle signed more than USD$30 billion in new AI cloud contracts in a single quarter and now has a USD$664 billion order book, an eye-watering amount of work that customers have already committed to. With Broadcom, Sandisk, and Micron joining it on the risers list, investors in the region are looking past the household AI names towards the companies supplying everything that an AI model depends on.”
By contrast, customer experience software company NiCE Ltd. ranked first among the UAE fallers, with holders declining by 84%, followed by cosmetics company e.l.f. Beauty (-84%) and website builder Wix(-77%). BioMarin Pharma (-74%), Accenture Plc (-72%), Sea Ltd. (-71%), Tempus AI (-58%), Salesforce (-57%), Bitmine Immersion Tech (-50%), and Duolingo (-46%) also featured in the top ten.
On the fallers, Josh Gilbert said: “Half of the UAE's biggest fallers sell something AI is quickly learning to do on its own, from building a website with Wix to learning a language with Duolingo, and investors in the region have stopped giving those businesses the benefit of the doubt. Oracle sits on the other side of the same trade, collecting revenue as companies race to put AI to work, while Salesforce, NiCE and Accenture face the much harder question of whether AI grows their business or eats into it. Until those companies can point to AI as a genuine source of new revenue in their results, the market is likely to keep treating them as being in the left behind rather than at the front of the queue.”
The rankings also showed contrasting positions within the consumer sector, with Nike fourth among the risers while e.l.f. Beauty ranked second among the fallers.
Josh Gilbert added: “Nike’s increase in holders suggests some UAE investors may see an opportunity in one of the world's best known brands after the shares sank to a 12-year low, but the turnaround still has challenges. Rebuilding relationships with retailers is one part of the task. The company also needs to show that its products are attracting customers, sales in China are stabilising and growth can improve without sacrificing margins. Investors will need patience for the recovery; it will certainly be a marathon and not a sprint. Nike’s rise alongside the decline in e.l.f. Beauty holders suggest investors are making different assessments of individual businesses, rather than moving broadly into or out of consumer stocks.”
Meanwhile, Nvidia remained the most held stock among etoro users in the UAE. Amazon moved from third to second place and Tesla rose from fourth to third, while Microsoft moved from second to fourth. Apple, Meta and Alphabet retained fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively. Alibaba rose to eighth, exchanging places with Strategy Inc, while Nio Inc. remained tenth.
Table 1: Stocks with the biggest proportional increase and decrease in holders among etoro users in the UAE quarter-on-quarter
RankBiggest risers among etoro’s users in the UAEIncrease
in holders QoQBiggest fallers among etoro’s users in the UAEDecrease in holders QoQ
1Oracle Corporation86%NiCE Ltd-84%
2Grab Holdings Ltd83%e.l.f. Beauty Inc-84%
3Sandisk Corp/DE56%Wix-77%
4Nike41%BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc-74%
5Rocket Lab Corp34%Accenture Plc-72%
6Space Exploration Technologies Corp24%Sea Ltd-71%
7Broadcom Inc22%Tempus AI Inc-58%
8Trade Desk Inc20%Salesforce Inc-57%
9Micron Technology, Inc.20%Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc-50%
10Uber Technologies Inc.16%Duolingo-46%
Table 2: Stocks most widely held by etoro users in the UAE and their position last quarter
CompanyRanking at the end of Q3 2026Ranking at the end of Q2 2026
NVIDIA Corporation11
AmazonInc23
Tesla Motors, Inc.34
Microsoft42
Apple55
Meta Platforms Inc66
Alphabet77
Alibaba89
Strategy Inc98
Nio Inc.1010
-ENDS-
etoro looked at which companies saw the biggest proportionate change in holders among its UAE users quarter-on-quarter (table 1), while also looking at the 10 most held stocks in the UAE on the platform (table 2).
Oracle topped the UAE list of biggest risers, with the number of etoro users holding the stock increasing by 86% over the course of Q3. Grab Holdings ranked second (+83%). This was followed by memory and storage company Sandisk Corp/DE (+56%) and sportswear giant, Nike (+41%).
Space companies Rocket Lab (+34%) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) (+24%) ranked fifth and sixth respectively, followed by semiconductor company Broadcom in seventh (+22%). Digital advertising company Trade Desk ranked eighth (+20%), while Micron Tech ranked ninth (+20%). Uber completed the list, ranking tenth among UAE users (+16%).
Oracle’s position comes as demand for AI cloud computing continues to expand. In September, the company reported more than USD 30 billion (≈AED 110 billion) in additional AI cloud contracts during its fiscal first quarter. The presence of Broadcom, Sandisk, and Micron, among the risers also points to interest in the chips, memory, and storage needed to support AI workloads.
Josh Gilbert, Lead Analyst, Asia Pacific & Middle East at etoro, said: “UAE investors are following the AI money to where it's actually being spent, and Oracle has become one of the clearest ways to own that build-out. Oracle signed more than USD$30 billion in new AI cloud contracts in a single quarter and now has a USD$664 billion order book, an eye-watering amount of work that customers have already committed to. With Broadcom, Sandisk, and Micron joining it on the risers list, investors in the region are looking past the household AI names towards the companies supplying everything that an AI model depends on.”
By contrast, customer experience software company NiCE Ltd. ranked first among the UAE fallers, with holders declining by 84%, followed by cosmetics company e.l.f. Beauty (-84%) and website builder Wix(-77%). BioMarin Pharma (-74%), Accenture Plc (-72%), Sea Ltd. (-71%), Tempus AI (-58%), Salesforce (-57%), Bitmine Immersion Tech (-50%), and Duolingo (-46%) also featured in the top ten.
On the fallers, Josh Gilbert said: “Half of the UAE's biggest fallers sell something AI is quickly learning to do on its own, from building a website with Wix to learning a language with Duolingo, and investors in the region have stopped giving those businesses the benefit of the doubt. Oracle sits on the other side of the same trade, collecting revenue as companies race to put AI to work, while Salesforce, NiCE and Accenture face the much harder question of whether AI grows their business or eats into it. Until those companies can point to AI as a genuine source of new revenue in their results, the market is likely to keep treating them as being in the left behind rather than at the front of the queue.”
The rankings also showed contrasting positions within the consumer sector, with Nike fourth among the risers while e.l.f. Beauty ranked second among the fallers.
Josh Gilbert added: “Nike’s increase in holders suggests some UAE investors may see an opportunity in one of the world's best known brands after the shares sank to a 12-year low, but the turnaround still has challenges. Rebuilding relationships with retailers is one part of the task. The company also needs to show that its products are attracting customers, sales in China are stabilising and growth can improve without sacrificing margins. Investors will need patience for the recovery; it will certainly be a marathon and not a sprint. Nike’s rise alongside the decline in e.l.f. Beauty holders suggest investors are making different assessments of individual businesses, rather than moving broadly into or out of consumer stocks.”
Meanwhile, Nvidia remained the most held stock among etoro users in the UAE. Amazon moved from third to second place and Tesla rose from fourth to third, while Microsoft moved from second to fourth. Apple, Meta and Alphabet retained fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively. Alibaba rose to eighth, exchanging places with Strategy Inc, while Nio Inc. remained tenth.
Table 1: Stocks with the biggest proportional increase and decrease in holders among etoro users in the UAE quarter-on-quarter
RankBiggest risers among etoro’s users in the UAEIncrease
in holders QoQBiggest fallers among etoro’s users in the UAEDecrease in holders QoQ
1Oracle Corporation86%NiCE Ltd-84%
2Grab Holdings Ltd83%e.l.f. Beauty Inc-84%
3Sandisk Corp/DE56%Wix-77%
4Nike41%BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc-74%
5Rocket Lab Corp34%Accenture Plc-72%
6Space Exploration Technologies Corp24%Sea Ltd-71%
7Broadcom Inc22%Tempus AI Inc-58%
8Trade Desk Inc20%Salesforce Inc-57%
9Micron Technology, Inc.20%Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc-50%
10Uber Technologies Inc.16%Duolingo-46%
Table 2: Stocks most widely held by etoro users in the UAE and their position last quarter
CompanyRanking at the end of Q3 2026Ranking at the end of Q2 2026
NVIDIA Corporation11
AmazonInc23
Tesla Motors, Inc.34
Microsoft42
Apple55
Meta Platforms Inc66
Alphabet77
Alibaba89
Strategy Inc98
Nio Inc.1010
-ENDS-
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