Super Micro shares jump 15.88% in premarket as margin outlook improves and orders hit record

Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI) surged in Wednesday premarket trading after the company issued a bullish business update, citing record order momentum and a sharply higher gross margin outlook. SMCI rose 15.88% to $29.55 before the open, up $4.05 from Tuesday's close of $25.50. The stock had already advanced 7.01% in Tuesday's regular session, adding $1.67. The rally follows Supermicro's disclosure that its order backlog reached a record level at the end of fiscal 2026. The AI server maker said it booked more than $60 billion of new orders in the fourth quarter alone and expects to ship a sizable portion of the backlog over the coming quarters, pointing to strong demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Investor focus also centered on profitability. Supermicro lifted its gross margin forecast to 15% to 17%, nearly double its prior guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%. The company attributed the improved outlook mainly to a more favorable customer and product mix. Supermicro builds servers and data center systems using processors and accelerators from suppliers including Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Its platforms have benefited as technology companies ramp spending on the computing capacity needed to train and run advanced AI models. The backlog adds visibility into potential revenue, though the company still faces execution pressure to deliver efficiently and convert demand into stronger profits. Supermicro has also been tied to large AI infrastructure efforts. In June, CEO Charles Liang said the company was working with Elon Musk's businesses to build another gigawattscale AI data center for SpaceX and xAI within a year. Despite the latest rally, SMCI remains down about 13% since the start of the year after a volatile stretch. Shares slid in June after the company announced an equity raise to fund component purchases tied to roughly $39 billion in AI server orders, fueling dilution concerns and questions around the capital required to support expansion. Wednesday's premarket jump suggests investors are growing more confident that the record backlog can translate into higher margins and stronger financial performance.