Aug 11 (Reuters) - Super Micro Computer forecast fiscal 2027 revenue above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, betting that strong demand for its AI-optimized servers would fuel another year of growth, sending its shares up 7% in extended trading.
The server maker has benefited from the race to equip data centers for generative AI, thanks to its close ties with chipmakers and reputation for speed-to-market.
AI infrastructure firms have seen demand surge as tech and cloud companies ramp up data center investments to support AI applications.
Big Tech companies have signaled that spending on AI would not slow down, with combined outlays set to surpass $730 billion this year.
Super Micro expects annual revenue between $65 billion and $72 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $52.50 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Gross margins for the fourth quarter ended June 30 stood at 17.5%, ahead of Super Micro's preliminary estimate of 15% to 17% and its initial forecast of 8.2% to 8.4%.
On a post-earnings call, finance chief David Weigand credited the sequential improvement to a better-than-anticipated customer and product mix, including the deferral of several contracts to the first quarter.
"Margins improving while volume is set to nearly double next quarter suggests the company has operational leeway, and is not facing industry-wide constraints," said Gadjo Sevilla, senior analyst at Emarketer.
Margins beating Super Micro's forecast and the guidance coming in ahead of expectations indicate that "the margin-recovery skepticism is being answered with hard numbers rather than promises."
Revenue nearly doubled to $11.12 billion in the fourth quarter, below estimates of $11.55 billion and at the low end of Super Micro's prior forecast of $11 billion to $12.5 billion, as signaled in July. CEO Charles Liang attributed this to short-term customer delays in power, cooling and networking.
In fiscal 2026, Super Micro counted nine customers generating more than $1 billion in revenue each, up from four such customers a year earlier.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
