Super Micro Stock Tumbles Anew As Data Center Firm Cuts Sales Outlook

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock fell late Tuesday after the data center hardware firm cut its sales targets for the September and December quarters. The company currently is embroiled in controversy surrounding its financial reporting.

After the market close, the San Jose, Calif.-based company offered a “business update” on its fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30, as well as the current quarter.

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For fiscal Q1, Super Micro now expects adjusted earnings of 75 cents to 76 cents a share on sales of $5.9 billion to $6 billion. It previously guided to adjusted earnings of 67 cents to 83 cents a share on sales of $6 billion to $7 billion.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to earn 73 cents a share on sales of $6.44 billion in the September quarter. In the year-earlier period, it earned 34 cents a share on sales of $2.12 billion.

For the current quarter ending Dec. 31, Super Micro forecast adjusted earnings of 56 cents to 65 cents a share on sales of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion. Wall Street was modeling earnings of 81 cents a share on sales of $6.84 billion in the fiscal second quarter.

Super Micro did not say when it will release its actual first-quarter results.

Super Micro Stock Falls On Update

In after-hours trading on the stock market today, Super Micro stock fell more than 12% to 24.29. During the regular session Tuesday, it rose 6.4% to 27.70.

Through Tuesday’s close, Super Micro stock is down 55% in the past three months and off 3% year to date as it deals with a morass of accounting issues. It faces possible delisting from the Nasdaq exchange if it doesn’t meet its financial compliance requirements.

Last week, Super Micro disclosed that Ernst & Young had resigned as its accounting firm after citing concerns about the company’s financial reporting. That news was on top of a delay in filing its annual 10-K report and a possible investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Committee Recommends ‘Remedial Measures’

Super Micro also released a statement from the independent special committee appointed by the board of directors to look into the company’s accounting. The special committee said it has completed a three-month investigation based on a set of concerns raised by EY.

It found that “the Audit Committee has acted independently and that there is no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the Board of Directors.”

Further, the special committee is recommending “a series of remedial measures for the company to strengthen its internal governance and oversight functions.”

The committee said it plans to deliver a full report this week or next.

Super Micro has been benefiting from cloud computing companies building data centers to support artificial intelligence applications. It competes with Dell Technologies (DELL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Lenovo and others.

Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.

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