Super Micro shares rally after strong preliminary sales results

Super Micro Computer just gave the AI trade a jolt. On October 20, 2026, the server maker released preliminary figures for its fiscal first quarter, which ended September 30. It now expects revenue between $18.5 billion and $19.5 billion, well above its earlier guidance of $14.5 billion to $15.5 billion. Wall Street responded the way it usually does when a company raises its own bar this much. Shares jumped by approximately 12% to 16% in after-hours trading, after the stock closed the regular session at $32.47. The numbers behind the jump The analyst consensus was sitting at approximately $15 billion before the update. Super Micro tied the surge to strong demand for its AI server solutions. Those are the racks of hardware that hyperscalers and enterprises use to train and run artificial intelligence models. The company lifted its gross margin outlook to between 12% and 12.5%, up from a prior estimate of 10.4% to 10.8%. The company credited a favorable mix of customers and products for the improvement. Super Micro also pointed to a record order backlog. It set fiscal 2027 revenue targets at $65 billion to $72 billion. A rising tide for AI hardware Shares of Dell Technologies and Hew...