MaxLinear (MXL) surged 7.93% during intraday trading on Thursday, as investors positioned themselves ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release scheduled after market close. Market consensus points to robust financial performance, with revenue expected to reach $165 million, marking a significant 56.96% year-over-year increase, while adjusted earnings per share are projected at $0.33, representing a 17.33% rise from the prior year.

The strong growth expectations are largely attributed to accelerating demand for AI computing, which has been driving increased adoption of optical interconnect technologies — a key area of focus for MaxLinear. This theme has provided sustained upward momentum for the stock, which has recorded notable gains over consecutive trading sessions leading into the earnings announcement.

The broader semiconductor sector also contributed to the positive sentiment, with storage and optical communication names broadly outperforming. Within the sector, SK hynix advanced 6.0% and Micron Technology gained 3.34%, reinforcing the sector-wide linkage to the upside and providing an additional tailwind for MaxLinear's intraday rally.