Shares of the data center server maker Super Micro Computer Inc. jumped 9% in extended trading today after it forecast some insane revenue growth for fiscal 2026, citing rising demand for its artificial intelligence hardware.

The after-hours jump reversed a selloff that had sent Supermicro’s stock down 8% during the regular trading session earlier today. It came after Chief Executive Charles Liang (pictured) told analysts in an earnings call that he believes the increased adoption of its direct-liquid cooling technology in data centers will help it grow its annual revenue to at least $40 billion in fiscal 2026, which will culminate halfway through the next calendar year.

The claim caught everyone by surprise, as Wall Street analysts had been projecting sales of just $29.18 billion for that period. Even more surprising is that Liang said the $40 billion figure is a conservative estimate based on current demand, as well as its backlog and existing sales commitments. So it could reach even higher.

“I hope we can grow even more than that,” an optimistic Liang told analysts on a conference call.

Liang’s comments came as Supermicro delivered its preliminary financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2025 year. The numbers are not yet finalized because the company has not yet had a chance to get the books audited, after it was dumped by the professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP last November.

As a result, Supermicro could only provide some tentative numbers that may be updated later. The company, which partners with Nvidia Corp. to make graphics processing unit-powered servers for AI and other workloads, said it’s expecting to deliver revenue of between $5.6 billion and $5.7 billion for the quarter, which would mean growth of 54% year-over-year. However, that number came in below the company’s prior forecast of $5.4 billion to $6.1 billion, and it was also a tad lower than Wall Street’s $5.8 billion consensus view.

In addition, Supermicro said it expects to see adjusted earnings, which strip out onetime items, of between 50 and 58 cents per share, trailing the Street’s 61-cent target.

The company also updated its fiscal 2025 guidance, saying it now sees total revenue of between $23.5 billion and $25 billion, down from its earlier forecast of $26 billion to $30 billion, and about in line with Wall Street’s estimate of $24.5 billion.

In the conference call, Liang and other officials stressed that they are working hard to ensure that the quarterly results, as well as the annual results for fiscal 2024, will be finalized by a Feb. 25 deadline set by financial regulators. After being humiliated by the exit of Ernst & Young, the company has now hired the services of BDO USA as its independent financial auditor.

Ernst & Young said it had walked away from Supermicro because it no longer had confidence in the representations of its management, and didn’t want to be associated with the financial statements it had prepared.

That came about a month after the Wall Street Journal revealed that the company is being probed by the U.S. Justice Department regarding possible financial irregularities. It’s said that the investigation was launched in response to claims by a former employee, who has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company, accusing it of accounting violations. Prior to that, in August, the short-seller firm Hindenburg Research LLC announced it had discovered a number of red flags that suggest Supermicro might be cooking the books.

The company has been threatened with a potential delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange if it’s unable to meet the Feb, 25 deadline for submitting its audited financial results.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE that there can be no doubt that Supermicro is benefiting immensely from the AI boom, even if the lack of clarity around its results makes it hard to tell by exactly how much.

“All eyes will be on the certified results, which must be delivered before the end of the month,” the analyst said. “In the longer-term, Charles Liang may be inviting yet more trouble by broadcasting such an ambitious revenue goal for fiscal 2026. It might be better to take things one step at a time.”

Fears over Supermicro’s alleged irregularities have contributed to a topsy-turvy ride for investors. In the last five days, its stock had gained 59%, and is now up 40% since the start of the year, compared to just a 2% gain for the Nasdaq. However, it’s still down 48% over the last 12 months.

Photo: Supermicro