On November 19th Beijing time, Super Micro Computer (SMCI, stock price $21.54, market value $12.61 billion) rose nearly 40% in pre-market trading in the United States.
On November 18th, Supermicro Computer announced that it has hired BDO, the world's fifth largest accounting firm, as its independent auditor and submitted a plan that meets the listing requirements to Nasdaq. This move meets Nasdaq's regulatory requirements for listed companies and enhances investors' confidence in the company's future compliance.
Supermicro Computer expects to be able to submit its annual report as of June 30th and quarterly report as of September 30th, and will continue to be listed on NASDAQ during the NASDAQ Compliance Review Program.
Previously in August, Supermicro failed to submit its 2024 annual report on time, and the original auditor Ernst&Young resigned in October.
The well-known short seller Hindenburg Research subsequently disclosed the short position of Supermicro Computer and stated in the report that "new evidence of accounting manipulation has been discovered". The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that the US Department of Justice is conducting a preliminary investigation into AMD computers.
According to securities firm China, Supermicro Computer had previously taken advantage of the AI trend, with its stock price soaring more than 20 times from early 2022 to March this year, and its market value reaching nearly $70 billion at its peak. The partnership between AMD and Nvidia has lasted for over 20 years and has been one of the main beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom in the past two years. According to the financial report, as of the end of June 2024, the revenue of Supermicro Computer was $14.943 billion, a year-on-year increase of 109.77%, and the net profit was $1.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 88.77%.
However, in recent months, this AI server manufacturer has been caught in a storm. At the end of August, well-known short selling firm Hindenburg accused AMD of "accounting manipulation" and other issues. Although AMD denied the allegations in Hindenburg's short selling report, claiming that the report contained "false or inaccurate" content about AMD, about a month later, the US Department of Justice launched a preliminary investigation into AMD. Subsequently, the company postponed its annual 10-K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Last week, AMD also postponed submitting its latest quarterly 10-Q report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the end of October, the news of the resignation of the former auditor Ernst&Young due to concerns about the company's transparency and governance triggered a continuous plunge in the company's stock price. In 12 trading days, the stock price of Supermicro Computer fell by 63%, and its market value shrank to around 10 billion US dollars. As of the close of last Friday, the company's stock price has fallen by over 85% from its peak in March.
Everbright Securities recently stated that Supermicro computers are ready with solutions including GB200, NVL72, and B200 liquid cooled and air-cooled rack systems based on Blackwell, waiting for Blackwell chip supply. The supply of Blackwell chips will significantly affect the company's rack shipment volume and corresponding performance. According to Digitimes, Nvidia has intervened in restructuring the company's orders. If a large number of orders are transferred to other suppliers, it will have a negative impact on the company's revenue, and other potential server suppliers are expected to benefit.