SMCI · Q2 2026 Earnings

Cautious

Super Micro

Reported February 3, 2026

30-second summary

Super Micro reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $12.7B, up 123% YoY and 153% QoQ, ~$1.7B above the high end of the $10–11B Q2 guide management issued on the prior call, and raised FY26 revenue guidance 21% from "at least $33B" to "at least $40B." But GAAP gross margin came in at 6.3% — down ~310bps QoQ from Q1's 9.5% non-GAAP print — and the Q3 non-GAAP EPS floor of $0.60 sits below the $0.69 just printed, signaling management does not expect Q2's operating leverage to repeat. The bull case is volume; the bear case is that Super Micro is buying revenue at margins that keep getting worse.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$0.69

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$12.70B

+123.3% YoY

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

6.3%

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

3.7%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$12.70B	+123.3%	$5.02B	+153.0%
EPS	$0.69	—	$0.35	+97.1%
Gross margin	6.3%	—	9.3%	-300bps
Operating margin	3.7%	—	3.6%	+10bps

Guidance

Supermicro dramatically beat Q2 guidance on both revenue and EPS, prompting a 21% raise to full-year FY2026 revenue guidance ($33B→$40B), though gross margin compression and cautious Q3 EPS guidance signal emerging profitability headwinds despite massive top-line strength.

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Revenue	Q2 FY2026	$6.0 billion to $7.0 billion	$12.7 billion	+$5.7B to +$6.7B above guide (81-112% above high end)	Beat
Non-GAAP EPS	Q2 FY2026	$0.40 to $0.52	$0.69	+$0.17 to +$0.29 above guide (33-73% above high end)	Beat
GAAP EPS	Q2 FY2026	$0.30 to $0.42	$0.60	+$0.18 to +$0.30 above guide (43-100% above high end)	Beat
Gross Margin	Q2 FY2026	Expected to be similar to Q4 FY25 levels (~9.6%)	6.3% (GAAP) / 6.4% (Non-GAAP)	-3.2 to -3.3 percentage points below guidance	Missed
Operating Expenses (GAAP)	Q2 FY2026	Approximately $329 million	Implied ~$467M	Exceeded guidance by ~$138M, but overall P&L driven by higher-than-expected revenue base	Met

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	Q3 FY2026	At least $12.3 billion	—
GAAP EPS	Q3 FY2026	At least $0.52	—
Non-GAAP EPS	Q3 FY2026	At least $0.60	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	At least $33.0 billion	At least $40.0 billion	+$7.0 billion	Raised

Capacity & utilization

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026
Cash and Cash Equivalents	$4.1B
Total Debt (Bank Debt + Convertible Notes)	$4.9B

Profitability

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026
Non-GAAP Gross Margin	6.4%
Adjusted EBITDA	$628.6M
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	5.0%
Operating Margin (GAAP)	3.7%

Management tone

Q4 FY25 anchor: capital + customer execution problems → Q1 FY26 (not covered) → Q2 FY26 anchor: defensive compliance framing on a blowout revenue print.

From "supply-constrained growth machine" to "compliance-heavy disclaimer marathon." Last quarter management led with operational execution issues and a margin-recovery roadmap built around DCBBS. This quarter's opening remarks front-load forward-looking-statement disclaimers, non-GAAP reconciliation caveats, and the unusually explicit line: "We see no obligation to update any forward-looking statements." For a company that just delivered a 123% YoY revenue print and raised FY guidance 21%, the defensive framing is jarring — and suggests internal awareness that the margin trajectory is fragile.

From "9.6% is the floor and DCBBS gets us back to 15–17%" to a +30bps Q3 recovery off a 6.4% base. In Q4 FY25, Charles walked through the DCBBS portfolio component-by-component and committed to 15–16%, "even 17%" long-term. This quarter, gross margin is 6.4% non-GAAP, and the explicit Q3 guide is just +30bps QoQ (~6.7%) on better customer mix, GB300 maturation, and tariff relief. There is no exit-rate target or quantified path back toward the prior ~9.5% level, let alone the 15%+ long-term goal — whose credibility is now an open question.

From "EPS will follow revenue eventually" to "EPS floor is below the just-printed number." The Q3 non-GAAP EPS guide of "at least $0.60" sits below Q2's $0.69 actual, despite Q3 revenue guided at least $12.3B — within 3% of Q2's $12.7B. Management is explicitly telling investors not to expect Q2's operating-leverage outcome to repeat. Whether this is conservatism (JPM's read, which management endorsed) or signal of further mix-driven margin pressure into Q3 is the central debate.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Forward-looking statement cautionNon-GAAP reliance and reconciliationRisk and uncertainty disclosureFiscal 2026 guidance positioningCompliance framework emphasis

Risks management surfaced:

Material risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materiallyUnspecified risks detailed in 10-K filingUnspecified risks in SEC filings

Q&A highlights

Ananda Barwa · Loop Capital

Regarding gross margin trajectory: management previously indicated December quarter would be the low watermark for gross margins, and now guiding for QoQ improvement in March quarter. Will margin expansion continue? How much is customer mix a headwind and will it improve? Also seeking clarification on OpEx leverage sustainability.

Charles confirmed gross margin will improve quarter-over-quarter due to: (1) better customer mix with more large-scale customers, (2) reduction in expedite transportation costs as GP300 platform matures, (3) tariff impact improving, and (4) DCBBS revenue growing. Dave confirmed OpEx leverage expected to continue structurally due to economic scale and DCBBS bringing more higher-margin service and infrastructure business.

GP300 platform maturing, reducing expedite transportation costsCustomer mix improving with more large-scale customersDCBBS contributing to both gross margin and operating margin expansionOpEx as percentage of revenue at 1.5-2% most attractive in years

Sonic Chatterjee · JPMorgan

On full-year $40B guidance: backing into 4Q implies significant sequential moderation. Is this conservatism or are there definite indicators of 4Q slowdown? Also seeking DCBBS revenue contribution (not just profit contribution) and how it translates to gross margin trajectory.

Charles stated $40B is a 'relatively conservative number' and business will continue growing, especially DCBBS attracting customers seeking faster data center builds with lower power/cost. On DCBBS specifics: 4% of profits in H1 FY26 (September + December quarters), revenue still 'relatively small' but profit margin much better. DCBBS to grow quickly and double profit contribution by end of calendar 2026.

Full-year guidance of at least $40B described as 'relatively conservative'DCBBS 4% of overall profits in first half of FY26DCBBS revenue still 'relatively small' but margins 'much better'DCBBS introduced officially ~6 months prior to call

Ossia Merchant · Citi

Two questions: (1) Is the minimum $40B full-year guide constrained by supply chain/component availability? Would the number be higher without supply constraints? (2) On customer concentration and geographic GOs decline (YoY and QoQ), how should we think about DCBBS ramp across various geographies relative to the guide?

The transcript cuts off mid-question before management's response to this exchange. No answer was provided by Charles or David.

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q1 FY2026 gross margin print vs. the ~9.6% guide. Q1 non-GAAP gross margin came in at 9.5% per the CFO, essentially in line with the prior framing. But Q2 has now broken decisively lower at 6.4% non-GAAP, and the Q3 guide of +30bps QoQ implies only ~6.7%. The customer-mix and tariff drag has intensified, not stabilized. Status: Resolved negatively

Large-customer count progression toward 6–8 by end of FY26. The press release does not quantify the number of >10% customers for the trailing period; no update was given on the FY25 base of four. However, one customer was disclosed at ~63% of Q2 revenue. Status: Continue monitoring

Top-customer concentration relative to the 21% FY25 figure. Disclosed: one large data center customer = ~63% of Q2 revenue. Concentration has materially increased. Status: Resolved negatively

DCBBS as a percent of deal value vs. the 20–30% target. Management disclosed that DCBBS contributed 4% of profits in H1 FY26, with revenue still "relatively small" — far short of the 20–30% deal-content framing from last quarter. Profit contribution expected to at least double by end of calendar 2026. The margin-recovery thesis built on DCBBS scaling is materially behind where Q4 FY25 framing implied. Status: Resolved negatively

FY26 implied run-rate. FY26 was raised to "at least $40B" — a meaningful raise but, given Q2's $12.7B already lands $1.7B above the high end of the prior Q2 guide and Q1 came in at $5.0B, implied H2 ~$22.3B (~$11.2B per quarter) sits below the Q2 print. Management raised FY26 alongside Q2, but the back-half implied bar is conservative relative to the Q2 run-rate. Status: Resolved negatively (relative to the underlying watch, which asked whether management would let the back-half implied bar shrink — it did)

GB300/AMI-355X ramp commentary. GB300 is referenced repeatedly as the platform driving Q2's revenue surge, with expedite-shipping costs on its ramp cited as a near-term gross-margin headwind that management expects to ease in Q3. The thesis that customers were waiting for next-gen platforms appears validated by the Q2 print. Status: Resolved positively

What to watch into next quarter

Q3 FY2026 gross margin print vs. the +30bps QoQ guide (~6.7% non-GAAP). Anything below 6.7% means the four drivers cited (customer mix, GB300, tariffs, DCBBS) are not yet adequate to offset hyperscale mix pressure even at the modest quantified recovery management committed to.

Q3 non-GAAP EPS vs. the $0.60 floor and the $0.69 Q2 actual. A print below $0.69 confirms management's implied signal that Q2 operating leverage was not repeatable.

FY26 revenue trajectory: does management raise above $40B at Q3, or does the implied Q4 step-down hold? A reaffirmed "at least $40B" with Q3 at $12.3B+ would mechanically signal a Q4 in the $10B range — a 20%+ QoQ step-down management has not explained.

DCBBS profit contribution disclosed in Q3. Management said 4% in H1 FY26, at least doubling by end of calendar 2026. A Q3 print materially below that trajectory invalidates the margin-recovery thesis.

Customer concentration disclosure. With one customer at ~63% of Q2 revenue, watch whether concentration intensifies further or whether the large-data-center customer count broadens as management targeted.

Cash and working capital. Cash drew down $1.1B from FY25 close to $4.1B while debt sits at $4.9B. Watch whether the receivables/inventory build that funded Q2's ramp converts to cash in Q3 or whether SMCI needs to lean further on the $2.0B U.S. and $1.8B Taiwan credit facilities disclosed this quarter.

Sources

Super Micro Q2 FY2026 press release (Exhibit 99.1), SEC EDGAR: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1375365/000137536526000006/exhibit991_20251231.htm
Super Micro Q2 FY2026 earnings call prepared remarks and Q&A.

Get the next brief, free.

We publish analyst-grade earnings briefs the same day or morning after every call — headline numbers, segment KPIs, Q&A highlights, and tone analysis. Free during beta.

This is not investment advice.