Super Micro Shines in AI Surge, Its CEO Joins Billionaires

Super Micro Computer, Inc. has seen its value increase by over 500% in the past year, becoming a big winner in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. The company's founder and CEO, Charles Liang, has seen his personal wealth surge, making him the latest billionaire, joining other Chinese tech leaders—Jensen Huang of NVIDIA and Lisa Su of AMD—in leading the current AI boom.

Supermicro's Market Performance

Recently, the share prices of the booming AI chip giants—AMD and NVIDIA—have seen a pullback, with AMD falling by more than 3% on Monday, and NVIDIA experiencing a drop of nearly 2% during Tuesday's trading session. In contrast, Super Micro Computer has continued its momentum to new highs this week, comfortably retaining its throne as the big winner in the AI surge. As of this Tuesday, Supermicro's stock has accumulated a gain of approximately 520% over the past year, outperforming other hot tech stocks.

Supermicro's Earnings Surprise

Before officially releasing its quarterly earnings on January 29, Super Micro Computer issued a positive earnings preannouncement. The projected performance for the fourth quarter of 2023 was far better than market expectations, causing the stock price to soar by 36% in a single day. The company estimated that revenue for the second fiscal quarter, ending December 31, would reach $3.6 to $3.65 billion, far exceeding prior expectations.

Founder Charles Liang's Wealth Growth

This round of stock price increases has added more than $850 million to Charles Liang's personal wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Liang holds a 12% stake in Supermicro, with these shares and additional options valued at $3.3 billion in total. Reports attribute Liang's success in part to a decision he made after watching the disaster movie "The Day After Tomorrow," which led him to focus on producing servers that emphasize efficient power systems and components.

Market Analysts' Views on Supermicro

Despite Super Micro Computer's impressive market performance, market analysts have mixed opinions on the future trajectory of its stock price. For instance, an analyst at Wedbush has given a target price of $250, while other Wall Street institutions are more optimistic about Supermicro's prospects. Nomura and Barclays have set target prices of $413 and $335, respectively, indicating a positive market sentiment for Supermicro's long-term growth.