Supermicro estimates revenue at $18.5–19.5 billion on AI demand
Key Facts
Supermicro estimated first-quarter revenue at $18.5–19.5 billion in a business update on October 20, 2026, exceeding its previous guidance and analysts' expectations on demand for artificial intelligence platforms. The estimate covers the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which ended in September 2026, according to the company. Its previous revenue guidance for the same period was $14.5–15.5 billion, before it raised its estimates in the latest update. Analysts' average forecast was $15.23 billion, according to London Stock Exchange Group data cited by Reuters, below the bottom of the new range. The company attributed the sales guidance beat primarily to increased demand for AI platforms, putting its business estimates ahead of expectations at the start of its fiscal year.
The beat extended to gross margin, which Supermicro estimated at 12.0%–12.5% for the first fiscal quarter, according to its business update. Analysts had expected a margin of 10.15%, according to Reuters, putting their estimate below the entire range announced by the company. Supermicro attributed the margin improvement relative to its guidance to its customer and product mix, while attributing the revenue guidance beat to demand for AI platforms. In its previous guidance issued in August for the same quarter, the company had forecast diluted earnings per share of between $0.89 and $0.98 under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. It also projected adjusted diluted earnings per share, on a non-GAAP basis, of between $1.01 and $1.10, according to its earnings release for the previous fiscal year.
The new estimates follow an increase in Supermicro's net income to $1,178 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, according to its earnings release. The company compared that figure with net income of $483 million in the third quarter of the same fiscal year, marking a quarter-on-quarter increase. On a year-on-year basis, net income in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 was about $195 million, according to the comparison in the release. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $7.5 billion at the end of June 2026, the close of the company's previous fiscal year. At the same date, total bank debt and convertible notes stood at $8.7 billion, exceeding cash and cash equivalents.
Against the backdrop of demand for AI platforms, Supermicro is pursuing a strategy that combines computing, power, networking and cooling technologies in integrated rack-scale solutions. In an announcement expanding its portfolio, the company said this integration aimed to simplify and accelerate data center deployment. The approach it described brings together computing equipment and the components needed to operate it, rather than addressing power, networking and cooling separately during deployment. In an earlier update on orders, the company warned that some orders might not represent firm customer commitments. It said some "may not constitute firm commitments and may be subject to cancellation or delay," qualifying its discussion of orders with a caveat about their execution and timing.
In the market, Supermicro shares rose 11.3% in after-hours trading on the day of the update, according to figures reported by Reuters. The gains followed the announcement of the new revenue range, which exceeded the company's previous guidance and analysts' average estimate for the first fiscal quarter. The share move coincided with gross margin estimates that also exceeded analysts' expectations, according to figures cited by the news agency. The rally extended to rivals Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which posted gains ranging from 3.5% to 4.9%, according to the same report. The rivals' gains remained below Supermicro's share-price rise in trading following the update, with the companies posting concurrent gains.
On the management front, the business update followed the appointment of Mark Long as Supermicro's chief financial officer, succeeding David Weigand, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The change took effect on October 14, 2026, before the announcement of the new quarterly estimates, according to the filing. Long previously served as chief financial officer and chief strategy officer at Western Digital, according to Supermicro's announcement of his appointment. The company scheduled its first-quarter earnings review call for November 3, 2026, making it the next announced occasion to discuss its financial performance. The call is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the schedule in the business update.