Super Micro Computer shares jumped 17.5% in extended trading following the company's announcement of securing more than $60 billion in new orders during the fourth quarter. According to reports from Reuters, the company's preliminary results statement revealed that its order backlog reached a record level at the end of fiscal 2026, reflecting robust demand for AI infrastructure offerings. The strong order performance comes as artificial-intelligence infrastructure firms have seen demand accelerate as tech companies and cloud providers ramp up investments in data centers to support large language models and other AI applications. The stock had already ended the regular session around 7% higher before extending gains following the announcement.
The company provided gross margins guidance of 15% to 17% for the quarter ended June 30, significantly above its earlier guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%. As reported by Reuters, this stronger margin outlook suggests Super Micro is making progress in selling higher-margin products and improving profitability. The company attributed the improvement primarily to a favorable customer and product mix, with gross margins expected to come in around 16%. While the company expects quarterly revenue to come in near the lower end of its previously guided range of $11 billion to $12.5 billion, the newly secured orders are expected to be delivered over coming quarters, providing strong visibility for future revenue. According to LSEG data, analysts expect the company to report fourth-quarter revenue of $11.67 billion, slightly above the company's guidance range.
While investors overwhelmingly cheered the margin expansion and unprecedented forward-looking indicators, analysts struck a more cautious tone. As reported by Wolfe Research analyst George Notter, "While the gross margin results were positive, we still view the governance and regulatory risks as unresolved. Further, gross margins have historically been volatile and subject to large swings in customer mix. We're not ready to call the gross margin improvement a trend." Similarly, Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold noted that "We envision incremental risk from a potential shift in allocation from NVIDIA, although this is impossible to quantify." While Super Micro reiterated that their allocation has not been changed, Leopold notes that this "will likely remain a point of investor concern." Despite the strong business update, analysts maintain concerns about the company's governance and regulatory risks, even as they acknowledge the impressive margin improvement.
In June, Super Micro announced plans to raise $7 billion through a combination of equity and equity-linked financing to support the execution of approximately $39 billion worth of AI server orders from more than 20 customers. According to Reuters, a portion of the proceeds from the fundraising may be used for debt repayment, working capital requirements, and capital expenditure. The AI boom has significantly boosted demand for high-performance servers, though it has also placed pressure on the company's balance sheet as it ramps up production to meet surging customer demand. The company is scheduled to report its earnings on August 11, with the strong order flow pushing its total backlog to record levels, highlighting continued demand for its AI, enterprise, storage and 5G/Edge IT solutions.
