Super Micro Computer — 2026Q3 earnings
reported 2026-08-11
EPS $1.70 vs $0.96 est — beat
next session +19.0% (close 2026-08-11 → 2026-08-12)
Source
8-K filing ↗Summary
Supermicro's fiscal Q4 2026 (reported 2026-08-11) was a margin quarter, not a volume quarter. Gross margin nearly doubled sequentially and carried non-GAAP EPS well past the company's own guide, but management attributed approximately 75% of that improvement to customer and product mix — including contracts deferred out of the quarter — and guided margin straight back down for the September quarter. The release itself remains explicitly preliminary and unaudited, with a Board review of certain transactions in connection with export-control issues still open, and the balance sheet absorbed a large inventory build funded by a $5.6 billion equity and mandatory-convertible raise.
Earnings call
Earnings call webcast ↗Review
From the report
The beat came from gross margin, which jumped to 17.5% from 9.9% in the prior quarter and drove non-GAAP EPS of $1.70; the release simultaneously restates that the figures are preliminary and unaudited and that the Board's independent review of certain transactions remains open.
-
The quarter's headline improvement was gross margin, which rose to 17.5% from 9.9% in the immediately preceding quarter and 9.5% a year earlier. show quote
“Gross margin of 17.5% versus 9.9% in Q3'26 and 9.5% in Q4'25.”
source ↗ -
Non-GAAP diluted EPS came in at $1.70 against $0.41 a year earlier — the figure the deterministic consensus comparison scored as the beat. show quote
“Non-GAAP diluted net income per common share of $1.70 versus $0.41 in Q4'25.”
source ↗ -
Management set a full-year fiscal 2027 revenue range far above fiscal 2026's actual, framing the quarter as the start of a much larger buildout. show quote
“For fiscal year 2027, the Company expects net sales in the range of $65.0 billion to $72.0 billion.”
source ↗ -
The release discloses that a Board-level independent review of certain transactions tied to export-control issues is still running, and that its outcome could change both this quarter's numbers and prior periods. show quote
“In addition, as the Company has disclosed, the Board is conducting an independent review of certain transactions in connection with export-control issues. The outcome of that investigation could affect our forecasts, these preliminary results and prior period results.”
source ↗ -
Every figure in this release is presented as preliminary and unaudited, with the company stating the final reported results may differ. show quote
“The unaudited financial information presented in this press release is preliminary. The final financial results reported for this period may also differ from the results reported in this release.”
source ↗ -
The company ended the year with more total bank debt and convertible notes ($8.7 billion) than cash ($7.5 billion). show quote
“As of June 30, 2026, total cash and cash equivalents was $7.5 billion and total bank debt and convertible notes were $8.7 billion.”
source ↗
From the call
On the call management sourced the margin blowout to mix and to contracts that slipped out of the quarter — then guided gross margin back to 10.4% to 10.8% for September, framed the revenue shortfall as timing rather than demand, and declined to update the Board investigation.
-
The CFO measured the margin result against a guide of 8.2% to 8.4%, and attributed approximately 75% of the improvement to a favourable customer and product mix that included contracts deferred out of the quarter. show quote
“Q4 non-GAAP gross margin was 17.6% versus our guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%. This was up from 10.1% in Q3. Gross margins improved by 750 basis points sequentially due to a better-than-anticipated customer and product mix, including the deferral of several contracts from Q4 fiscal year '26 to Q1 fiscal year '27, and perhaps the subsequent quarter. This favorable mix contributed approximately 75% of the gross margin improvement.”
source ↗ -
The elevated margin is not guided as a run rate — the September-quarter guide takes it straight back to roughly the level of the prior two quarters. show quote
“Based on the expected customer and product mix, we expect gross margin to be in the range of 10.4% to 10.8%.”
source ↗ -
The CEO characterised the revenue level as a customer-readiness problem — power, cooling and networking at the customer site — rather than a demand problem. show quote
“While Q4 revenue came in at $11.1 billion due to some short-term customer delays in power shortage, cooling, and networking, we know this is purely a timing story.”
source ↗ -
Working capital deteriorated sharply as the company built inventory ahead of fiscal 2027, with the cash conversion cycle lengthening by 43 days quarter over quarter. show quote
“Turning to the balance sheet and working capital metrics, the cash conversion cycle increased by 43 days, from 106 days in Q3 to 149 days in Q4.”
source ↗ -
The working-capital demand of the backlog was funded in the quarter with equity and mandatory convertible preferred rather than from operations. show quote
“During the quarter, we completed public equity offerings, raising $5.6 billion after offering expenses, comprising $1.4 billion of common stock and $4.2 billion of mandatory convertible preferred shares.”
source ↗ -
Asked directly for an update on the Board inquiry — the second half of the first analyst's question — the CFO deferred it off the call entirely. show quote
“As to your second question, Ananda, we expect to provide an update shortly, and that's all we can share on this call.”
source ↗
as of 2026-08-28