Shares of server company Super Micro Computer plunged 13% on Tuesday after the company announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations. The company also announced a 10-for-1 stock split, set to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on Oct. 1.
Here’s how the company did vs. LSEG estimates for the quarter that ended in June:
Earnings: $6.25 adjusted vs. $8.07 expected
Revenue: $5.31 billion vs. $5.30 billion expected
Super Micro said gross margin dropped to 11.2% from 17% in the year-ago quarter and from 15.5% in the third quarter, which means it’s making less profit on each product it sells, despite noting that it “continues to experience record demand of new AI infrastructures.”
The company announced net income of $352.7 million, or $5.51 per share, up from $193.5 million, or $3.43 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Super Micro said it expects first-quarter revenues between $6 billion and $7 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $5.46 billion. It expects EPS of $5.59 to $8.27, or a $7.48 midpoint, compared to the consensus estimates of $7.58.
Shares in the company, which competes with companies like Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, have surged over recent years as investors bet it will be an essential vendor of servers for Nvidia, whose graphics cards are powering the artificial intelligence boom.
Stock splits do nothing to change the financial fundamentals of a company but they do make each share cheaper, which can have a positive psychological effect on retail investors.
Shares of Super Micro, which joined the S&P 500 in March, surged 246% in 2023 and are up 117% year-to-date. The stock closed Tuesday at $618.94.
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