After-market trading of SMCI, the rising star in the AI industry, soared more than 10% as its performance exceeded expectations.

Super Micro Computer released its financial report after the market closed on Monday, showing that the company's performance for the second quarter and its guidance for the third quarter exceeded analysts' expectations, driving Super Micro Computer's stock to rise more than 10% after hours on Monday.

The financial report shows that Super Micro Computer's revenue for the second quarter was $3.66 billion, a year-on-year increase of 103.3%, higher than analysts' expectations of $3.26 billion. The gross margin was 15.4%, lower than the 16.7% in the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year and the 18.7% in the same period last year. The adjusted EPS was $5.59, higher than analysts' expectations of $5.16.

For the third quarter, Super Micro Computer expects net revenue to be between $3.7 billion and $4.1 billion, higher than analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion; the adjusted EPS range is expected to be between $5.2 and $6.01, higher than analysts' expectations of $4.61. As for the full fiscal year 2024 ending on June 30th, the company expects total revenue to be between $14.3 billion and $14.7 billion, higher than the company's original forecast of $10 billion to $11 billion, as well as higher than analysts' expectations of $13.8 billion, indicating that its products will continue to gain market share.

Super Micro Computer CEO Liang Jianhou said, "While we continue to win new partnerships, our current end customers continue to demand Super Micro's optimized AI computing platforms and rack-scale IT solutions."

The exciting financial report and performance guidance prompted Super Micro Computer's stock to rise 10.66% in after-hours trading on Monday, reaching $548.5. The company's stock price has surged 567% in the past 12 months. Wall Street News mentioned that Super Micro is one of the most eye-catching tech stocks in the past two years, with a cumulative increase of 87% in 2022 and a surge of 246% in 2023. Since the end of 2018, Super Micro's stock price has increased nearly 30 times. If someone had invested $10,000 in Super Micro's stock five years ago, their holdings would now be worth nearly $300,000.

Super Micro produces computers and sells them to enterprises for use in website servers, data storage, AI training, and other businesses. Its partners include Nvidia Corp., NASA, and NEC. Wedbush analysts previously stated that Super Micro's surge in sales is mainly due to the increased demand for Nvidia GPUs from large companies. They reconfirmed their neutral rating and set a target price of $250.

Some other Wall Street institutions have even more optimistic price targets. Nomura initiated coverage of Super Micro with a buy rating on October 20th last year, with a target price of $413. Barclays raised its target price for Super Micro from $327 to $335 on November 2nd last year and gave it an overweight rating. Since 2020, the company has seen a maximum increase of over 33 times (calculated based on the after-hours price).

Currently, the founder and CEO, Liang Jianhou, holds a 12% stake in Super Micro Computer, with a total value of $3.3 billion, including these shares and additional options. Unlike the other two Chinese leaders, Huang Renxun and Su Zifeng, who have been studying abroad since childhood and are also at the forefront of the AI wave, the 65-year-old Liang Jianhou graduated from Taipei Institute of Technology, the predecessor of Taipei Tech, majoring in electrical engineering. After graduating from Taipei Tech, Liang Jianhou went to the United States for further studies, obtained a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, and founded Super Micro Computer in San Jose, California in 1993, serving as president and CEO.