Super Micro’s stock pops as earnings show booming demand for AI servers

Super Micro Computer has forecasted second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, driven by robust demand for its AI-optimized servers. The company's shares surged about 6% in extended trading, reflecting the positive outlook. Super Micro specializes in Nvidia-powered systems, which have seen increased adoption by cloud providers and technology firms as they expand data-center capacity.

The firm appointed former Western Digital executive Mark Long as CFO recently, following a prolonged search due to earlier concerns over financial and accounting practices. In the first quarter, Super Micro reported revenue of $19.95 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $16.39 billion. The company earned $1.81 per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter ended September 30, outperforming the estimated $1.23.

Gross margins for the quarter stood at 12.7%, exceeding the preliminary estimate of 12.0% to 12.5%. Super Micro anticipates second-quarter revenue between $19.5 billion and $21.5 billion, which is higher than the analysts' estimate of $17.14 billion. The company also projected fiscal 2027 revenue of $72.0 billion to $82.0 billion, surpassing its prior forecast range of $65.0 billion to $72.0 billion and the Street's estimate of $69.17 billion.

The firm has faced scrutiny after a contractor was recently convicted for illegally exporting servers containing advanced Nvidia AI chips to China.