Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI)

Super Micro Computer, a maker of servers and complete racks for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, estimated on 20 October 2026 that revenue for its latest quarter reached $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion 2. That quarter ended 30 September and opens fiscal 2027, and its own guidance had been $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion 2.

The company put the jump down to more demand for AI platforms 2. It estimated gross margin, the share of revenue left after production costs, at 12.0% to 12.5%, against guidance of 10.4% to 10.8% 2.

For the year to 30 June 2026 it reported revenue of $39.1 billion, up from $22.0 billion, and net income of $2.2 billion 3. Charles Liang, the founder and chief executive, said the company "generated more than $60 billion in new orders, and booked record backlog entering fiscal 2027" 3.

The full results and a call follow on 3 November 2026 2. Two open questions sit beside the growth: a new finance chief, Mark Long, replaced David Weigand on 14 October, and government inquiries into export controls remain open 41.

Charles Liang started the company in San Jose in September 1993 and has run it as chief executive and chairman since then 1. It says it has been profitable every year since it began operating in 1993, and its shares began trading on Nasdaq on 29 March 2007 1.

For years it sold server parts such as motherboards, chassis and power supplies alongside whole machines 8. From fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2019 it pushed complete server and storage systems, which grew from 70.0% to 81.7% of sales 8. Whole systems sell for more and open the door to service contracts, so it chased larger enterprise and data center buyers 8.

That stretch broke down over its own paperwork 8. The company failed to file its 2017 annual report on time, and its shares were suspended from Nasdaq on 23 August 2018 and delisted on 22 March 2019 8. Fees to investigate the delay and restate earlier accounts pushed operating expenses up 18.8% in fiscal 2019 8.

Nasdaq listed the shares again on 14 January 2020 9. On 25 August 2020 the company settled the SEC's investigation, neither admitting nor denying its findings, and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $17.5 million 9.

Then demand turned with AI, which runs on graphics processors (GPUs), chips built for heavy parallel arithmetic 10. Revenue rose 46.1% in fiscal 2022 and 37.1% in fiscal 2023, to $7.1 billion, as large buyers ordered GPU servers and full racks 10.

Revenue more than doubled in fiscal 2024, up 110.4% to $15.0 billion, on demand for GPU racks cooled by air or by liquid 111.

The boom met fresh trouble in 2024 111. In August a short seller published accusations of accounting manipulation, and on 24 October the auditor, Ernst and Young, resigned after raising concerns about governance and internal controls 111.

A special committee of the board found no substantial concerns about the integrity of senior management, and BDO became the auditor on 18 November 2024 11. The overdue reports were filed on 25 February 2025, and Nasdaq closed the matter 12.

Revenue grew 46.6% to $22.0 billion in fiscal 2025, mostly from racks built on Nvidia's H200, H100 and B200 chips 1. Fiscal 2026 added 77.8%, to $39.1 billion, as a few large customers took GB200 and GB300 rack systems 1.

Growth came at thinner margins 1. Gross margin fell from 13.8% two years earlier to 10.8% in fiscal 2026, which the company puts down to competitive pricing to gain market share and its mix of products and customers 1.

AI servers and racks

The core business is servers packed with GPUs, sold one by one or as complete racks wired, cooled and tested at the factory 1. In fiscal 2026 it shipped systems built on Nvidia's GB300 NVL72, GB200 NVL72, HGX B300 and B200 platforms, cooled by air or by liquid 1.

The company reports one segment and no revenue by product, but it says billings for "Hyper Servers, GPU & Super Racks" rose $15,261.5 million, or 83.4%, in fiscal 2026 1. It also builds systems on AMD Instinct GPUs, Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC processors and Arm-based chips 1.

ServeTheHome's Patrick Kennedy toured the San Jose factory on a visit he says Supermicro sponsored, and wrote on 11 March 2026 that it is "engineering and producing the full stack" for Nvidia B300 systems 14. He counted up to 144 B300 GPUs in one 48U rack of its densest liquid-cooled design 14.

The annual report names Dell, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and Cisco as rivals, plus contract builders such as Foxconn, Quanta Computer and Wiwynn that now sell their own branded machines 1.

Liquid cooling and building blocks

Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) is the company's name for selling a whole AI data center in parts: servers, storage, networking, racks, cooling, power, software and services 1. In about a year that line grew to more than ten subsystems, from coolant distribution units and chilled doors to power shelves and cooling towers 1.

Its DLC-2 direct liquid cooling captures up to 98% of a rack's heat, and the company says it can cut data center power use by up to 40% compared with air cooling 1.

Servers, storage and edge systems

Outside AI it sells rackmount, blade and multi-node servers under names such as SuperBlade, BigTwin and GrandTwin, SuperStorage systems, and small embedded systems for 5G and edge sites 1. It still sells server boards, chassis and power supplies on their own 1.

ServeTheHome reviewed the SYS-E403-14B-FRN2T edge server on 11 January 2026, praising "the three PCIe slots" and concluding: "Overall, this is a cool little server" 15.

Software and services

Services and software brought in $538.3 million in fiscal 2026, up from $330.5 million, covering rack design and installation, on-site support and warranties of one to three years 1.

Customers, suppliers and cash

One unnamed customer bought 28.1% of fiscal 2026 revenue, and 70.9% of revenue shipped to the United States 1. One unnamed supplier accounted for 63.1% of purchases, which ties the business to the launch calendars of chip makers 1.

Growth ties up cash: inventory reached $12.9 billion at 30 June 2026, and operations used $6,809.9 million of cash in the year 31. Borrowing and $5,638.6 million from share sales in the fourth quarter filled the gap 1.

Plants and people

It owned or leased about 5,717,000 square feet at 30 June 2026 and makes most systems in San Jose, with plants in Taiwan, the Netherlands and Malaysia 1. It employed over 7,000 people, about 3,500 in research and development and over 3,200 at headquarters 1.

Charles Liang, 68, is chief executive and chairman, and his spouse Sara Liu, 64, a co-founder, is a senior vice president and director 1. Mark Long, 59, finance chief of Western Digital from 2016 to 2019, became chief financial officer on 14 October 2026 4.

Shesha Krishnapura, formerly chief technology officer of Intel IT, joined the board on 9 October 2026, the day director Judy Lin retired 5.

Problems on the record

On 19 March 2026 federal prosecutors in New York unsealed charges against Wally Liaw, then a senior vice president and director, a Taiwan sales manager and a contractor, alleging a conspiracy to break export controls 6.

The indictment says Liaw and Chang directed a Southeast Asian company to order $2.5 billion of servers between 2024 and 2025, The National News Desk reported 7. Prosecutors allege at least $510 million of them were diverted to China 7.

The company is not a defendant, and Liaw left the board 6. Its own investigation found no evidence that current senior management knew of the scheme 1. Subpoenas from the SEC, a grand jury and the Commerce Department's export enforcement office remain open 1.

Its annual report for fiscal 2026 still reports a material weakness in IT controls over some financial systems, while saying three earlier weaknesses were addressed 1.

The umbrella, in words

The subsidiaries exhibit, as of 30 June 2026, lists units from the Netherlands, Taiwan and Malaysia to Japan, China, Saudi Arabia, India and Mexico, plus Super Micro Computer Federal LLC in the United States 13.

It owned 30% of a Chinese company it calls the Corporate Venture until selling that stake on 23 December 2025 1. It has invested $92.5 million in an unrelated company that subleases its whole 21 MW data center space in Vernon, California 1.

Two Taiwan suppliers are family ties, not holdings: Ablecom is run by Liang's brother Steve, and Liang and Liu jointly own about 10.5% of it 1. Compuware is led by another brother, Bill Liang, the company owns neither, and the two supplied 2.1% of fiscal 2026 cost of sales 1.

It owns about 36.7 acres of land across its Taiwan and Malaysia sites 1. Liang and Liu held 12.2% of the common stock on 31 July 2026, the largest stake listed 1.

Other holders of 5% or more were Jane Street Group at 8.6%, BlackRock at 6.3%, Capital Ventures International at 6.1% and two Vanguard entities at 5.8% and 5.0% 1. Each common share has one vote, and preferred shares issued in June 2026 convert into common stock around 1 June 2029 1.

The company expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $65.0 billion to $72.0 billion, it said on 11 August 2026 3. Its first-quarter estimate of $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion is preliminary and unaudited, and the final figures come on 3 November 2.

It has announced support for Nvidia's coming Vera Rubin NVL72 and HGX Rubin NVL8 systems, with blueprints for AI data centers from 5 megawatts to 1 gigawatt 1. It also announced support for AMD's Helios, a 72-GPU rack system 1.

It plans capital spending of $380.0 million to $400.0 million in fiscal 2027, mainly on manufacturing, tooling, IT and facilities 1. A new business complex and a DCBBS campus near the San Jose headquarters are under construction or leased 1.

At 30 June 2026 it had $34.2 billion of non-cancelable purchase commitments, parts and capacity it has agreed to buy 1. Its tax rate assumes a Malaysian exemption that needs a minimum investment by 16 December 2026, and the company says the rate would rise without it 1.

Dividends on the preferred shares run at 7.00% a year, payable from 1 September 2026 through 1 June 2029 in cash or common shares 1. The next annual meeting is set for 4 February 2027 and is expected to be virtual 1.

Mark Long is expected to receive, subject to the compensation committee's approval, 120,000 restricted stock units and options on 150,000 shares, each vesting over four years 4. His offer letter sets a base salary of $725,000 4.

The company says it intends to expand its software, its service and support, and its network of sales partners, with more focus on large enterprise and data center customers 1. It expects research, sales and administrative costs to keep rising as it hires 1.

The company says its fixes for the remaining material weakness in IT controls should allow it to be remediated, subject to testing during fiscal 2027 1.

The export-control inquiries have no date on file, and the company says it cannot predict their scope, duration or outcome 1.