By Akash Sriram and Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) -Super Micro Computer, whose auditor unexpectedly stepped down last week, flagged uncertainty on Tuesday concerning the timing of its annual report but said a probe about accounting practices had not found evidence of fraud by the corporate.
Shares of the San Jose, California-based server maker fell about 15.5% to $23.42 in prolonged trading.
The corporate also said it expects net sales of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion for the second quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of $6.86 billion, in line with data compiled by LSEG.
Super Micro expects profits between 48 cents and 58 cents per share, far below estimates of 75 cents per share.
Super Micro has also turn out to be a key supplier to specialty cloud-computing providers equivalent to CoreWeave that concentrate on providing chips from Nvidia for artificial-intelligence work.
On a conference call with investors, Super Micro Chief Executive Charles Liang said the corporate’s forecast reflected the actual fact it’s waiting for Nvidia’s latest chips. Liang said the pc servers Super Micro will construct around those chips are ready for production and that it doesn’t expect any reduction in its allocation of Nvidia chips.
Liang, who founded Super Micro in 1993, the identical yr Nvidia was founded, also said he has an open mind about separating the corporate’s chairman and chief executive roles, each of which he holds.
Super Micro’s preliminary results come lower than every week after Ernst & Young resigned as its auditor, triggering investor concerns about accounting practices on the firm.
The special committee probe related to issues raised by EY over the corporate’s governance, transparency and internal control over financial reporting.
Super Micro risks being delisted from the Nasdaq if it doesn’t meet deadlines later this month. The recent departure of EY adds a layer of complexity to this compliance restoration process.
On the conference call, Super Micro executives declined to reply questions from analysts about when the corporate would file its annual report or secure a latest auditor.
“It seems like yesterday this was a stock-market darling, showing how quickly things can change for investors and corporations alike,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at investment advisory firm Carson Group.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Shailesh Kuber and Rod Nickel)