Super Micro Sales Nearly Quadruple to $19.9 Billion as AI Server Demand Lifts Guidance

Super Micro Computer reported fiscal first quarter revenue of $19.95 billion on Tuesday, well above the $16.39 billion average estimate compiled by LSEG, as demand for AI servers drove sales to nearly four times the level of a year earlier. The result for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 beat even the company's own raised preview, and the shares rose about 6 percent in extended trading.

Net sales of $19.9 billion compared with $5.0 billion a year ago and $11.1 billion in the prior quarter. Adjusted earnings were $1.81 per share, compared with estimates of $1.23 per share. On a GAAP basis the company earned $1.75 per diluted share, up from $0.26 a year earlier, and net income was $1.594 billion.

Margins up on the year, cash out the door

Gross margin was 12.7 percent on a GAAP basis. That was up from 9.3 percent a year ago but down from 17.5 percent in the prior quarter, a drop that shows the cost of filling large AI orders at speed. Operating cash flow was negative $434 million for the quarter. Receivables and inventory soaked up about $6 billion, with customer deposits offsetting about half of that amount. In plain terms, the company shipped far more servers, but a large part of the money owed for them had not arrived by the end of the quarter.

Guidance raised for the quarter and the year

For the fiscal second quarter, Super Micro expects revenue of $19.5 billion to $21.5 billion. That range sits above the analysts' estimate of $17.14 billion. The company also raised its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $72.0 billion to $82.0 billion, from a prior forecast of $65.0 billion to $72.0 billion. The new range is above the Street estimate of $69.17 billion. The raised outlook rests on the same force that produced the first quarter numbers: data center operators ordering AI servers in large volumes.

A beat against its own preview

The final numbers also cleared the company's revised preliminary range. On October 20 the company had lifted its preview to $18.5 billion to $19.5 billion, after an earlier guide of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion. The reported $19.95 billion came in above the top of that revised range. The company described the figures as preliminary and unaudited.

The report also lands under new financial leadership. Super Micro appointed former Western Digital executive Mark Long as chief financial officer last month, nearly two years after launching a search for the role amid concerns over its financial and accounting practices. That history is part of why investors read the cash flow and margin lines as closely as the headline sales number. On Tuesday the sales and guidance lines pointed up, the share price followed in extended trading, and the questions about cash collection remain for the next quarter to answer.