After NVIDIA, Is SMCI the Smartest AI Stock to Buy Right Now?

NVIDIA Corporation NVDA dominates the artificial intelligence (AI) market but carries a high valuation. By contrast, the smaller AI company Super Micro Computer, Inc. SMCI delivered strong quarterly results and appears undervalued, though it faces risks. So, is now the right time to invest in SMCI, or should investors adopt a cautious wait-and-watch approach? Let’s explore –  

SMCI to Ride AI Infrastructure Wave, Stock Looks Undervalued 

NVIDIA has been Wall Street’s AI darling for quite some time, and for good reason. The company has consistently delivered revenue and earnings growth quarter after quarter, even in the face of stiff competition and geopolitical challenges.  

This was possible due to the relentless demand for its chips, particularly the Blackwell series, as well as its cloud-based graphics processing units (GPUs). The ongoing surge in data center spending is creating strong opportunities for NVIDIA to sell its computer hardware. 

However, at present, NVIDIA is trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 37.35, well above the Semiconductor - General industry’s average of 22.67. This elevated valuation could make NVIDIA stock very volatile if the company fails to meet growth expectations.

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On the other hand, Supermicro is trading at a forward P/E of 15.83, well below the Computer- Storage Devices industry’s average of 28.9. This makes the stock appear undervalued and potentially attractive to investors.

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Lest we forget, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, Supermicro’s net sales jumped 123% year over year to $12.7 billion, according to ir.supermicro.com. This was primarily due to the company’s new Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) gaining popularity among AI customers as it offers integrated servers, networking, storage, cooling, software and services.

CEO of Supermicro, Charles Liang, further added that DCBBS helps customers to scale efficiently, positioning the company to ride the next AI infrastructure wave. Management remains optimistic about Supermicro’s revenue growth, projecting third-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues to reach at least $12.3 billion, and full-year net sales of at least $40 billion.  

These outlooks provide strong reasons for stakeholders to stay invested, though new investors should exercise caution, even as the SMCI stock appears undervalued. 

Reasons to Reconsider Buying SMCI Stock At This Moment 

A major reason to be cautious about Supermicro is the pressure on its gross margin. In the fiscal second quarter of 2026, Supermicro’s gross margins fell to 6.3% from 11.8% in the year-ago quarter, indicating a low-margin business that could struggle to generate meaningful profits in the future after accounting for overhead and operating expenses. 

Secondly, Supermicro’s debt-to-equity ratio stands at 66.9%, well above the industry average of 20.1%, signaling higher financial risk and greater exposure to economic downturns.

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Thus, for the time being, Supermicro has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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