Super Micro Slides on Weak Sales Outlook as Delisting Risk Looms
(Bloomberg) — Super Micro Computer Inc. plunged in early trading after issuing a disappointing sales forecast and failing to give a timeline for filing its previous fiscal year’s official financial statements.
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Revenue will be $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion in the quarter ending in December, the company said, well below analysts’ projections of $6.79 billion. Its profit outlook, excluding some items, also fell far below estimates.
Super Micro has had a tumultuous year. Shares rose at the start of 2024 as investors bet the AI boom would fuel demand for the company’s high-powered machines, earning the stock inclusion in the S&P 500. But then a former employee alleged earlier this year in federal court that Super Micro had sought to overstate its revenue. Short seller Hindenburg Research referenced those claims in a research report, alleging “glaring accounting red flags.”
The embattled server maker also missed an August deadline to file its annual financial report and last week its auditor Ernst & Young LLP resigned, citing concerns about the company’s governance and transparency. An investigation of the accounting issues by a special board committee found “no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the board of directors,” Super Micro said Tuesday in a statement.
Shares of the company have slid 77% since peaking in March, wiping out roughly $50 billion in market value. The stock was down as much as 26% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, heading for the biggest intraday decline in a week.
Sales were hurt in the fiscal first quarter by the availability of semiconductors, Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang said. When asked on a conference call Tuesday whether the company’s accounting issues had affected its relationship with Nvidia Corp., which is the top producer of powerful processors for artificial intelligence, executives said the chip maker hasn’t made any changes to Super Micro’s supply allocations.
“At this moment — according to our relationship, according to our communication — things are very positive,” Liang said of the relationship with Nvidia.
Recently, the failure to file its 10-K financial disclosure and the departure of Ernst & Young has put the San Jose, California-based company at a risk of being delisted by Nasdaq Inc. and booted from the index.
Tuesday’s update was the company’s opportunity to ease investor fears. N Quinn Bolton, an analyst at Needham, suspended his rating of Super Micro after the resignation of Ernst & Young. In a note ahead of the event, he said the update from Super Micro could provide an opportunity to reassess the suspension. Instead, it triggered a sell-off of the company’s stock.
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