Shares of AXT rose after the company swung to a profit and reported a jump in revenue during the recent quarter, boosted in part by strong data-center demand.

The stock jumped 28%, to $60.15, in premarket trading Friday. Through Thursday's close, shares have nearly tripled year to date.

The company, which manufactures compound semiconductor wafer substrates, late Thursday posted a second-quarter profit of $11.1 million, or 17 cents a share. That compares with a loss of $7 million, or 16 cents a share, a year ago.

Stripping out certain one-time items, earnings were 19 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 7 cents a share.

Revenue more than doubled to $47.6 million--up from $18 million a year earlier--and came in ahead of Wall Street models for $34.1 million.

Chief Executive Morris Young said AXT has reached an inflection point, with strong demand for data-center optical connectivity as well as investments in manufacturing capacity and productivity driving a step-function increase in revenue.

"The investments we are making today--in capacity, in technology, and in our uniquely integrated supply chain--position us to meet the extraordinary demand we see building across the optical and AI infrastructure markets," he added.

AXT's quarterly readout came after the company on Wednesday struck a deal with Lumentum, signing a long-term agreement to supply indium phosphide wafers to the company and reserve production capacity.