Super Micro Computer issued a preliminary business update for its fiscal fourth quarter on Tuesday showing gross margins roughly twice what the company had forecast, sending SMCI stock up 17% in after-hours trading.
The AI server maker now expects gross margins of 15% to 17% for the quarter ended June 30, versus earlier guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%
Cheng Xin / Getty Images
Super Micro Computer issued a preliminary business update for its fiscal fourth quarter on Tuesday showing gross margins roughly twice what the company had forecast, sending SMCI stock up 17% in after-hours trading.
The San Jose-based AI server maker said it now expects GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins in the range of 15% to 17% for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, compared with prior guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%. The company attributed the improvement to a favorable customer and product mix.
Super Micro also disclosed that new orders during the quarter exceeded $60 billion, bringing its backlog to a record high as it closed out fiscal year 2026. Those orders are expected to be fulfilled over future quarters. The company noted that some of the orders may not constitute firm commitments and could be subject to cancellation or delays.
On revenue, Super Micro said it anticipates finishing the quarter toward the bottom of its $11 billion to $12.5 billion target range. The consensus fourth-quarter revenue estimate among analysts was $11.73 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company is scheduled to report full results on August 11.
The margin improvement follows a turbulent stretch for Super Micro. The company posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $10.24 billion, falling short of analyst expectations, though it issued guidance for the fourth quarter that topped estimates. At the time, CEO Charles Liang attributed the revenue shortfall to timing, saying several customers lacked the power and networking infrastructure needed for cloud deployment.
Super Micro has also been navigating a legal controversy. A federal indictment out of the Southern District of New York accused unnamed individuals tied to an unidentified U.S. server company of funneling billions of dollars in Nvidia $NVDA-equipped servers to China in violation of export controls. Super Micro acknowledged that three of the charged individuals had ties to the firm, including co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, who has since departed the board. The company said it does not expect to restate previously reported financial results.
The legal scrutiny deepened in June when Taiwan prosecutors raided Super Micro's Taiwan offices as part of an investigation into alleged smuggling of Nvidia AI chips to China, covering 12 locations across three companies. Super Micro said it is cooperating with authorities. In Tuesday's preliminary update, the company disclosed that its board is conducting an independent review of certain transactions connected to the alleged export-control issues.
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