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(Bloomberg) — Super Micro Computer Inc. gave a sales forecast that fell short of analysts’ estimates while saying it couldn’t predict when it would file official financial statements for its previous fiscal year. The shares dropped about 14% in extended trading.
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The embattled server maker missed an August deadline to file its annual financial report and last week its auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, resigned, citing concerns about the company’s governance and transparency. An investigation of the accounting issues by a special board committee found “no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the board of directors,” Super Micro said Tuesday in a statement.
Revenue will be $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion in the quarter ending in December, the company said. Analysts, on average, projected sales of $6.79 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, is expected to be 56 cents to 65 cents per share, compared with 80 cents anticipated by analysts.
Sales were hurt in the fiscal first quarter by the availability of semiconductors, Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang said. When asked on a conference call whether the company’s accounting issues had affected its relationship with Nvidia Corp., which is the top producer of powerful processors for artificial intelligence, executives said the chipmaker hasn’t made any changes to Super Micro’s supply allocations.
“At this moment — according to our relationship, according to our communication — things are very positive,” Liang said of the relationship with Nvidia.
Super Micro has had a tumultuous year. Shares were rising at the start of 2024, with Wall Street enthusiastic about AI-fueled demand for the company’s high-powered machines, and the company winning inclusion in the S&P 500.
But scrutiny intensified after a former employee alleged earlier this year in federal court that Super Micro had sought to overstate its revenue. Short seller Hindenburg Research referenced those claims in a research report, alleging “glaring accounting red flags, evidence of undisclosed related party transactions, sanctions and export control failures, and customer issues.”
Recently, the failure to file its 10-K financial disclosure and the departure of E&Y has put the San Jose, California-based company at a risk of being delisted by Nasdaq Inc. and booted from the index. The shares have slipped 44% since the auditor’s resignation last week and are down more than 75% from a March peak.
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