Super Micro Computer shares rose sharply in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company issued a fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 preliminary business update that cited record orders and a higher gross margin forecast.

Supermicro shares were up 15.88% at $29.55 in premarket trading, adding $4.05 from the previous closing price of $25.50. SMCI stock had already gained 7.01% during Tuesday's regular session, closing $1.67 higher.

The move followed Supermicro's announcement that its order backlog reached a record level at the end of fiscal 2026. The AI server manufacturer said it received more than $60 billion in new orders during the fourth quarter alone. The company said it expects to fulfill a significant portion of that backlog over the coming quarters as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure remains strong, driven by large-scale investments from cloud providers and enterprises racing to expand AI computing capacity.

Supermicro's preliminary business update is available on its investor relations website:

Supermicro also shared the announcement on X: https://x.com/Supermicro/status/2041995036502716891?lang=en

Supermicro Raises Gross Margin Outlook

A key element of the update was Supermicro's revised gross margin forecast. The company now expects gross margin to range between 15% and 17%, nearly double its previous guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%.

Supermicro attributed the improved forecast mainly to a more favorable mix of customers and products. The updated margin outlook is significant because profitability concerns have weighed on SMCI stock even as demand for AI servers has continued to grow. Rival server manufacturers including Dell Technologies and Hewlett Packard Enterprise have also faced margin pressure in the AI server segment, where the high cost of accelerators and processors can compress overall profitability.

Supermicro builds servers and data center systems that use processors and accelerators supplied by companies including Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Its systems are used by technology companies investing in the computing infrastructure needed to train and operate advanced AI models.

Record AI Orders Add Revenue Visibility

Supermicro's record backlog provides additional visibility into future revenue, although the company still needs to deliver the orders efficiently and convert demand into stronger profits.

The company has also been connected to major AI infrastructure projects. In June, Supermicro CEO Charles Liang said the business was working with Elon Musk's companies to build another gigawatt-scale AI data center for SpaceX and xAI within a year.

Despite Wednesday's premarket gain, SMCI stock has remained volatile. Shares were still down approximately 13% since the beginning of the year, even after the latest rally. The stock fell sharply in June after Supermicro announced an equity raise intended to fund component purchases needed to fulfill approximately $39 billion in AI server orders.

That capital raise prompted concerns about shareholder dilution and the amount of funding required to support the company's expansion. Hardware manufacturers like Supermicro often need significant working capital to purchase costly components such as Nvidia GPUs before receiving customer payments, creating ongoing financing demands as order volumes scale. Wednesday's premarket move came as Supermicro pointed to a record backlog, improved margins and continued demand for AI infrastructure.