Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI) shares surged more than 9% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company issued full-year guidance that came in well above Wall Street expectations.
The upbeat outlook helped restore investor confidence after the AI server specialist had previously warned of softer fourth-quarter revenue in a preliminary update released in July.
Super Micro Earnings Beat Expectations
Super Micro reported adjusted earnings of $1.70 per share for the fourth quarter, exceeding the analyst consensus of $1.59.
Quarterly revenue reached $11.12 billion, slightly below Wall Street’s estimate of $11.26 billion. However, revenue still jumped an impressive 93% from the same period a year earlier.
The strong year-over-year growth highlighted continued demand for the company’s AI-focused server infrastructure.
First-Quarter Guidance Tops Wall Street Forecasts
Investors were particularly encouraged by Super Micro’s outlook for the first quarter.
The company expects revenue between $14.5 billion and $15.5 billion, giving a midpoint of approximately $15 billion. That is well above analysts’ average forecast of $11.99 billion.
Super Micro also projected adjusted earnings per share between $1.01 and $1.10, with a midpoint of $1.06.
Wall Street had expected approximately $0.74 per share.
Super Micro Sees Revenue Reaching $72 Billion
For fiscal 2027, Super Micro expects annual revenue of between $65 billion and $72 billion.
That outlook comfortably exceeds the analyst consensus estimate of approximately $54.43 billion.
The stronger forecast suggests the company expects demand for its AI servers and related infrastructure products to remain robust over the coming year.
AI Demand Drives Record Order Growth
CEO Charles Liang said the company’s AI-driven strategy continues to generate strong results.
Super Micro added several hundred enterprise and other customers during the past year. The company also generated more than $60 billion in new orders and entered fiscal 2027 with a record backlog.
The figures underline the rapid expansion of demand for high-performance computing infrastructure as companies continue investing heavily in artificial intelligence.
Export Investigation Remains a Risk
Despite the strong operational outlook, regulatory uncertainty remains a potential concern for investors.
Raymond James analysts said the increase in new orders suggests customers are largely looking past the ongoing investigation surrounding alleged export-control violations.
U.S. and Taiwanese authorities are reportedly investigating allegations that Nvidia-powered Super Micro servers were improperly routed to China in violation of U.S. export restrictions.
Raymond James warned that the investigation remains difficult to quantify and could continue to represent a risk for the company.
Super Micro Gross Margin Improves Sharply
Super Micro also reported a significant improvement in profitability.
Fourth-quarter gross margin climbed to 17.5%, compared with 9.9% in the previous quarter and 9.5% during the same period a year earlier.
Adjusted gross margin reached 17.6%, up from 9.6% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
The sharp improvement suggests that stronger sales growth is increasingly translating into healthier margins.
Net Income Surges Year Over Year
Super Micro reported net income of $1.18 billion, equivalent to $1.62 per diluted share.
That compares with net income of just $195 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, during the same quarter last year.
Overall, the combination of stronger earnings, improving margins and significantly higher revenue guidance helped send SMCI shares sharply higher in premarket trading.
