Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock rose more than 5% in Wednesday’s pre-market trading after the company confirmed an ongoing independent investigation related to the March 2026 indictment of its co-founder and two other individuals associated with the company on charges of export-control violations.
Claim 30% Off TipRanks
Trade NVDA with leverageSpecifically, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged SMCI’s co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, sales manager Ruei-Tsang Chang, and contractor Ting-Wei Sun with illegally routing U.S.-made servers powered by Nvidia (NVDA) chips through Taiwan to Southeast Asia. The products were allegedly repackaged into unmarked boxes in Southeast Asia and smuggled into China. Such transactions have generated around $2.5 billion in sales for the server maker since 2024.
It is important to note that Supermicro is not named as a defendant in the indictment and is not accused of any wrongdoing.
SMCI Reveals Independent Probe
Super Micro disclosed that the investigation is being led by two independent members of its Board, Scott Angel, Lead Independent Director, and Tally Liu, Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. These two members will report their findings to the other four independent members of the SMCI board.
Meanwhile, the probe is being supported by external legal counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (MTO). Furthermore, MTO has retained AlixPartners as an independent consultant.
SMCI revealed that the independent directors have not set a specific time period for the investigation and will provide an update when it is completed. Also, the company has commenced an internal review of its Global Trade Compliance Program.
Super Micro Computer has been seeing strong demand for its AI-optimized servers to support the expansion of data center capacity. In February, the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter results and raised its Fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to at least $40 billion, up from its earlier forecast of $36 billion, reflecting strong demand for its servers.
Is SMCI a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Currently, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on Super Micro Computer stock based on eight Holds, three Buys, and three Sells. The average SMCI stock price target of $30.90 indicates 36.3% upside potential.
