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Luke Kawa

Super Micro jumps on big Q3 earnings beat, strong profit guidance

Super Micro Computer is jumping on Wednesday after posting a big earnings beat along with a the signal that this improved profitability is poised to last after the bell on Tuesday.

In Q3, the embattled AI server company reported:

  • Net sales of $10.24 billion (compared to analyst estimates of $12.45 billion and guidance for more than $12.3 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.84 (estimate: $0.63, guidance for more than $0.60).

“Our margin recovery and the rapid growth of our data center building block solutions business demonstrate that our business remains robust,” said founder, CEO, and President Charles Liang.

For Q4, management anticipates net sales of $11 billion to $12.5 billion (estimate: $11.2 billion) with adjusted earnings per share of $0.65 to $0.79 (estimate: $0.57).

“Importantly, management indicated that orders and backlog remain strong, with backlog reaching another record high,” wrote Needham analyst Quinn Bolton, who expects that the supply constraints that weighed on Q3 sales to be made up for in Q4.

Last quarter, the company was able to snap a long streak of disappointing sales and allayed fears of margin pressure with a report that beat on both the top and bottom lines and included better-than-expected guidance for this quarter.

But afterwards the stock was rocked by allegations that threatened to impact the company’s operations. In March, the company’s cofounder was charged with conspiring to sell AI servers with Nvidia chips to China in violation of US export controls. The company itself was not named in this indictment. However, Oracle was said to have canceled a contract with Super Micro in excess of $1 billion following this news, according to BlueFin Research, a move that “is believed to be related” to these charges.

“When asked whether the DOJ indictment of former employees is impacting the business, management indicated that vendor relationships remain strong and that it has seen no change in customer allocations,” added Bolton.

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Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan is surrounded by NBA Championship trophies after his team defeated the Utah Jazz 90-86 to win the 1997 NBA Finals at the United Center in Chicago, IL.

Stock climb on US-Iran peace deal; semiconductors rally

This morning, President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war.

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Intel surges after Trump announces US chip deal with Apple

Intel is soaring in early trading after President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Apple has agreed to work with the semiconductor giant to design and manufacture its chips domestically.

President Trump positioned the agreement as the latest victory for his administration’s industrial policy after the federal government acquired a 9.9% equity stake in Intel last year.

"Stupid Presidents took our Economy for granted, and let Taiwan and others steal our Semiconductor Factories," Trump wrote in the post. "We design everything, but we need to BUILD it here, NOW! So I decided to help Intel because we need to design and build our Chips right here in America... and, finally, Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and build its Chips in America."

Intel reportedly reached a preliminary agreement back in May to manufacture chips for the Apple, which has been facing supply constraints for its iPhone as well other products. The deal could help Apple reduce its reliance on longtime partner TSMC by bringing more of its chip manufacturing stateside.

"This partnership helps Apple with chip development and manufacturing on US soil with greater focus on reducing dependence on Asian manufacturing facilities." Wedbush's Dan Ives commented in a company report. He has a $400 price target for Apple this year.

The timing aligns with Intel's technical roadmap. Earlier this week, Intel confirmed that its advanced, performance-boosted 18A-P process node officially entered its risk production phase. This move serves as a blueprint for both Intel chips and processors the company plans to build for foundry customers.

“The current capacity crunch is probably emboldening customers to give Intel a harder look at this stage than perhaps they might ordinarily be inclined to do as the prospect of more advanced capacity will take on higher value in a constrained environment,” wrote Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon. “We are sure that Trump’s encouragement is at least not going to hurt though.”

Momentum was built around Intel Foundry services as surging global AI demand continuously outpaced capacity. Earlier this month, Google reportedly placed an order with Intel to manufacture more than 3 million of its increasingly popular tensor processing unit chips in 2028. According to the report, Nvidia is also testing to see if Intel could manufacture its next-gen Feynman chips.

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Stocks rise after US, Iran sign peace plan

Stocks rose Thursday morning after President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, in another sign that a months-long war that caused energy prices to spike could be coming to an end.

Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France on Wednesday evening. The president previously announced that a deal had been reached on Sunday evening, saying that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would resume and that the US naval blockade would be lifted.

The deal comes after both sides exchanged attacks last week, escalating tensions to some of the highest levels since the US and Israel struck Iran in late February.

The price of Brent Crude ticked even lower after dropping on Sunday, sitting at about $76 a barrel. Oil giants like Shell, Chevron and Exxon fell on the news, as average gas prices in the US dropped below $4 for the first time in months.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Last week, inflation readings for May showed both wholesale inflation and consumer prices rose in large part because of higher energy costs.

Signs of the peace deal have also lead to buying of momentum stocks this week. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETFrose another 1.46% in premarket trading.

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