Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock fell as much as 6% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company lowered its full-year revenue outlook, citing economic uncertainty amid President Trump’s trade war and fierce competition from other AI server makers.
Super Micro said it expects its full year revenue for 2025 to fall between $21.8 billion and $22.6 billion, down from its prior guidance of $23.5 billion and $25 billion.
CEO Charles Liang told analysts in a call following the company’s third quarter earnings results that tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainty “concern” some customers and make it difficult to forecast the adoption of its technology.
Super Micro is based in the US but also has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan and the Netherlands, which are subject to Trump’s new 10% global tariffs. The president is also pursuing tariffs on semiconductors, key components in Super Micro’s servers.
CFO David Weigand said that given the current “dynamic environment,” the company expects gross margin, a measure of profitability, to be approximately 10%. Super Micro’s gross margin was just over 14% in its fiscal year 2024 (ended June 30) and 18% in 2023.
Weigand later added that in addition to uncertainty clouding the company’s outlook, an industry-wide shift toward servers that use Nvidia’s latest AI Blackwell GPUs (graphics processing units) also brought more price competition to the server market.
During the earnings call, the company shooed away questions from analysts about whether its aggressive financial targets for 2026 still stand under the current economic landscape. Liang had said in February that Super Micro could potentially reach $40 billion in revenue next year, sending the stock soaring.
But, on Tuesday, CFO Weigand declined to confirm the outlook, pointing to tariffs and economic uncertainty.
Liange, however, said, “we believe our business will continue to grow much faster in the coming quarters.”
Super Micro had previously moderated expectations ahead of its third quarter earnings report, lowering its projected range for its financial results for the March period in a regulatory filing last week. The update sent the stock plummeting 11.5% the following day.
The company’s third quarter earnings missed the mark, but fell within the updated range provided by the server maker April 29.
The company’s revenue of $4.6 billion was below the $4.76 expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Bloomberg data. Its adjusted earnings per share of $0.31 were below the projected $0.37.
Liang also told analysts that the company’s underperformance in the third quarter was partly due to its customers waiting to order its servers with Nvidia’s latest Blackwell AI GPUs. Those chips faced production delays until the end of last year.
As of Tuesday’s close, Super Micro shares were down nearly 39% in 2025. The stock has plunged as investors weigh the company’s AI-fueled growth against questionable accounting practices, growing competition, and macroeconomic uncertainties.
Super Micro far underperformed other AI-themed stocks in 2024 as turmoil surrounding its accounting practices staved off investors.
A report published by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research last summer led to growing concerns over Super Micro’s accounting methods. The report accused the server maker of accounting violations, violations of export controls, and questionable relationships between its executives and key suppliers.
The company faced a prolonged risk of being delisted by the Nasdaq and was forced to find a new accountant after its prior one, Ernst & Young, resigned in a shocking rebuke of Super Micro management.
Super Micro has avoided delisting and officially submitted all of its delayed regulatory filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in late April.
Still, Super Micro said in its April 24 filing that its financial results will “continue to be subject to fluctuation” and its attempt to address its accounting issues may not be a lasting fix.
“While we have initiated remediation measures to address the identified material weaknesses, we cannot provide assurance that our remediation efforts will be adequate to allow us to conclude that such controls will be effective in the future,” the company said.
Laura Bratton is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Bluesky @laurabratton.bsky.social. Email her at laura.bratton@yahooinc.com.
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