Super Micro shares skyrocketed by 31% on Tuesday after the company announced it had appointed BDO as its new independent auditor and submitted a compliance plan to Nasdaq to retain its listing on the exchange.
The stock, which had experienced a steep decline since its peak in March, has surged more than 50% over the past two trading days amid investor optimism about the company's potential to maintain its Nasdaq status. Despite the recent gains, Super Micro has seen a sharp fall in its market valuation, losing nearly three-quarters of its value since its peak, a drop translating to approximately $54 billion in market capitalization.
The server manufacturer has faced challenges with timely financial reporting, delaying its 2024 year-end report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company’s previous auditor, Ernst & Young, resigned in October after taking over from Deloitte & Touche in March 2023.
Super Micro indicated on Monday that it had notified Nasdaq about its intention to submit its annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30 and a quarterly report for the period ending September 30. The company remains listed pending Nasdaq's evaluation of its compliance plan.
Analysts from Mizuho, who had previously suspended their rating on Super Micro, highlighted that Nasdaq's approval process for the compliance plan could extend between two to five weeks.
Super Micro CEO Charles Liang described the appointment of BDO as a "critical next step" in bringing the company’s financials up to date, emphasizing their commitment to resolve the issues with urgency and thoroughness.
Super Micro’s share price had previously soared twentyfold from early 2022 until peaking in March, largely driven by its strategic partnership with Nvidia amid the artificial intelligence boom. The company's revenue more than doubled last fiscal year, reaching $15 billion, as it packaged Nvidia AI chips for various clients, competing with industry giants Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
In a further positive development, Super Micro recently announced it would offer products featuring Nvidia’s new AI chip, Blackwell. Despite being added to the S&P 500 in March, the company’s fortunes quickly soured after it failed to file its annual report on time in August. This led to a short-selling report from Hindenburg Research alleging accounting irregularities and a subsequent early-stage investigation by the Department of Justice.
In September, Super Micro received a Nasdaq compliance notice due to its delayed report. According to Nasdaq rules, the company had 60 days to either file the report or present a compliance plan, with the deadline set for Monday.