Super Micro Computer 10-K 2023-06-30
Filed 2023-08-28. 22 sections, 669K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
______________________________________________________________________
Form 10-K
______________________________________________________________________
| ☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023
or
| ☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from___________to___________
Commission File Number 001-33383
______________________________________________________________________

Super Micro Computer, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
______________________________________________________________________
| Delaware | 77-0353939 | |||||||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
980 Rock Avenue
San Jose, CA 95131
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(408) 503-8000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
__________________________________________________________________________
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
| Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share | SMCI | NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act) Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates, based upon the closing price of the common stock on December 31, 2022, as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market, was $3,828,767,079. Shares of common stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding common stock, based on filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, have been excluded since such persons may be deemed affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.
As of July 31, 2023, there were 52,905,947 shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.001 par value, outstanding, which is the only class of common stock of the registrant issued.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Unless the context requires otherwise, the words “Super Micro,” “Supermicro,” “we,” “Company,” “us” and “our” in this document refer to Super Micro Computer, Inc. and where appropriate, our wholly owned subsidiaries. Supermicro, the Company logo and our other registered or common law trademarks, service marks, or trade names appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of Super Micro Computer, Inc. or its affiliates. Other trademarks, service marks, or trade names appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology including “would,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “probable of achievement,” or “continue,” the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. In evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including the risks described below, under Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors”, and in other parts of this Form 10-K as well as in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this Annual Report may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Our Company
We are a Silicon Valley-based provider of accelerated compute platforms that are application-optimized high performance and high-efficiency server and storage systems for a variety of markets, including enterprise data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (“AI”), 5G and edge computing. Our Total IT Solutions include complete servers, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full rack scale solutions, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management and security software. We also provide global support and services to help our customers install, upgrade and maintain their computing infrastructure. We offer our customers a high degree of flexibility and customization by providing a broad array of server models and configurations from which they can choose the best solutions to fit their computing needs. Our server and storage systems, sub-systems and accessories are architecturally designed to provide high levels of reliability, quality, configurability, and scalability.
Our in-house design competencies, design control over many of the components used within our server and storage systems, and our Server Building Block Solutions® (an innovative, modular and open architecture) enable us to rapidly develop, build and test our compute platforms along with our server and storage systems, sub-systems and accessories with unique configurations. As a result, when new technologies are brought to market, we are generally able to quickly assemble a broad portfolio of solutions by leveraging common building blocks across product lines. We work closely with the leading microprocessor, graphics processing units (“GPU”), memory, disk/flash, and interconnect vendors and other hardware and software suppliers to coordinate our new products' design with their product release schedules. This enhances our ability to introduce new products incorporating the latest technology rapidly. We seek to be the first to market with products incorporating new technologies and to offer the broadest selection of products using those technologies to our customers.
To reduce the high cost of operating datacenters, IT managers increasingly turn to suppliers of high-performance products that are also cost-effective, energy-efficient, and green. Our resource saving architecture supports our efforts to lead in green IT innovation. This architecture disaggregates CPU and memory, which enables each resource to be refreshed independently, thereby allowing data centers to significantly reduce both refresh cycle costs and e-waste. In addition, we offer product lines that are designed to share common computing resources, thereby saving both valuable space and power as compared to general-purpose rackmount servers. We believe our approach of leveraging an overall architecture that balances data center power requirements, cooling, shared resources and refresh cycles helps the environment and provides total cost of ownership (“TCO”) savings for our customers.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 1
We conduct our operations principally from our Silicon Valley headquarters, Taiwan and Netherlands facilities. Our sales and marketing activities operate through a combination of our direct sales force and indirect sales channel partners. We work with distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") to market and sell our optimized solutions to their end customers in our indirect sales channels.
Strategy
Our objective is to be the world’s leading provider of solutions using accelerated compute platforms that are application-optimized offering high-performance server, storage and networking. Achieving this objective requires continuous development and innovation of our Total IT Solutions with better price-performance and architectural advantages compared with our prior generation of solutions and with solutions offered by our competitors. Through our strategy, we seek to maintain or improve our relative competitive position in many product areas and pursue markets that provide us with additional long-term growth opportunities. Key elements of our strategy include executing upon the following:
A Strong Internal Research and Development and Internal Manufacturing Capability
We are continually investing in our engineering organization. As of June 30, 2023, we had over 2,400 employees in our research and development organization. These resources, along with our understanding of complex computing and storage requirements, enable us to deliver product innovation featuring advanced functionality and capabilities required by our customers. Also, substantially all of our servers are tested and assembled in our facilities, and more than half of our final server and storage production is completed in San Jose, California. Our engineering aptitude, coupled with our internal manufacturing capability, enables rapid prototyping and product roll-out, contributing to a high level of responsiveness to our customers.
Introducing More Innovative Products, Faster
We seek to sustain advantages in both time-to-market and breadth of products incorporating the latest technological innovations, such as new processors, advancements in storage and evolving I/O technologies. We seek these advantages by leveraging our in-house design capabilities and our Building Block Solutions ® architecture. This allows us to offer customers a broad choice of products to match their target application requirements. In fiscal year 2023, we announced more than 50 products supporting Intel’s new Sapphire Rapids data center CPU. During the second half of fiscal year 2023, our product portfolio was enhanced to support AMD’s Genoa data center CPU. In March 2023, we released a high-density petascale class all-flash NVMe server family supporting next-generation EDSFF form factor, including the E3.S and E1.S devices. Also in March 2023, we unveiled comprehensive portfolio of GPU systems including servers in 8U, 6U, 5U, 4U, 2U, and 1U form factors, as well as workstations that support the full range of new NVIDIA H100 GPUs.
Capitalizing on New Applications and Technologies
In addition to serving traditional needs for server and storage systems, we have devoted, and will continue to devote, substantial resources to developing systems that support emerging and growing applications including AI, cloud computing, 5G/edge computing, storage and others. We believe there are significant opportunities for us in each of these rapidly developing markets due to stringent design requirements for these applications that often require the use of the latest technologies, allowing us to leverage our capabilities in product innovation, superior time-to-market, and portfolio breadth.
Driving Software and Services Sales to our Global Enterprise Customers
We seek to grow our global enterprise revenue by bolstering and expanding our software management products and support services. These software products and services are required for large scale deployments, help meet service level agreements and address uptime requirements. In addition to our internal software development efforts, we also integrate and partner with external software vendors to meet customer requirements.
Leveraging Our Global Operating Structure
We plan to continue to increase our worldwide manufacturing capacity and logistics abilities in the United States, Taiwan and the Netherlands to more efficiently serve our customers and lower our overall manufacturing costs.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 2
Products and Services
We offer a broad range of accelerated compute platforms that are application-optimized server solutions, rackmount and blade servers, storage, and subsystems and accessories, which can be used to build complete server and storage systems. These Total IT Solutions and products are designed to serve a variety of markets, such as enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI and 5G/edge computing. The percentage of our net sales represented by sales of server and storage systems increased to 92.2% in fiscal year 2023 compared to 85.9% in fiscal year 2022 and 78.4% in fiscal year 2021, and the percentage of our net sales represented by sales of subsystems and accessories was 7.8% in fiscal year 2023, 14.1% in fiscal year 2022 and 21.6% in fiscal year 2021. During fiscal year 2023, we experienced increased revenue from server and storage systems, particularly from our large enterprise and datacenter customers. The year-over-year increase in net sales of server and storage systems and corresponding decrease in net sales of subsystems and accessories was primarily due to our emphasis on selling full systems and servers which require utilization of the subcomponents. We complement our accelerated compute platforms inclusive of server and storage system offerings with software management/security solutions, global services and support, the revenue for which is included in our server and storage systems revenue.
Server and Storage Systems
We sell accelerated compute platforms comprised of a combination of server and storage systems in rackmount, blade, multi-node and embedded form factors, which support single, dual, and multiprocessor architectures. Our key product lines include:
-
SuperBlade****®** and MicroBlade™® system families designed to share common computing resources, thereby saving space and power over standard rackmount servers;
-
SuperStorage** systems that provide high-density storage while leveraging an efficient use of power to achieve performance-per-watt savings;
-
Twin** family of multi-node server systems designed for density, performance, and power efficiency;
-
Ultra Server** systems for demanding enterprise workloads;
-
GPU** or Accelerated systems for rapidly growing AI markets;
-
Data Center Optimized** server systems that deliver increased scalability and performance-per-watt with an improved thermal architecture;
-
Embedded (5G/IoT/Edge)** systems optimized for evolving networks and intelligent management of connected devices; and
-
MicroCloud server systems that deliver node density in environments with space and power constraints.
In addition to our accelerated compute platforms business, we offer a large array of modular server subsystems and accessories, such as server boards, chassis, power supplies and other accessories. These subsystems are the foundation of platform solutions and span product offerings from the entry-level single and dual-processor server segment to the high-end multiprocessor market. The majority of the subsystems and accessories we sell individually are designed to work together to improve performance and are ultimately integrated into complete server and storage systems.
Server Software Management Solutions
Our open industry-standard remote system management solutions, such as our Server Management suite, including Supermicro Server Manager (“SSM”), Supermicro Power Management software (“SPM”), Supermicro Update Manager (“SUM”), SuperCloud Composer and SuperDoctor 5, have been designed to help manage large-scale heterogeneous data center environments.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 3
Supermicro Global Services
We provide global service and support offerings for our direct and OEM customers and our indirect sales channel partners directly or through approved distributors and third-party partners. Our services include server and storage system integration, configuration and software upgrades and updates. We also identify service requirements, create and execute project plans, conduct verification testing and training and provide technical documentation.
Global Services: Our strategic direct and OEM customers may purchase a variety of on-site support service plans. Our service plans vary depending on specific services, response times, coverage hours and duration, repair priority levels, spare parts requirements, logistics, data privacy and security needs. Our Global Services team provides help desk services and on-site product support for our server and storage systems.
Support Services: Our customer support services offer competitive market warranties, generally from one-to-three years, and warranty extension options for products sold by our direct sales team and approved indirect sales channel partners. Our customer support team provides ongoing maintenance and technical support for our products through our website and 24-hour continuous direct phone-based support.
Research and Development
We perform most of our research and development activities in-house in the United States at our facilities in San Jose, California, and in Taiwan, increasing the communication and collaboration between design teams to streamline the development process and reduce time-to-market. We believe that the combination of our focus on internal research and development activities, our close working relationships with customers and vendors and our modular design approach allows us to decrease time-to-market. We continue to invest in reducing our design and manufacturing costs and improving the performance, cost-effectiveness and power- and space-efficiency of our Total IT Solutions.
Our research and development teams focus on the development of new and enhanced products that can support emerging technological and engineering innovations while achieving high overall system performance. Much of our research and development activity relates to the new product cycles of leading processor vendors. We work closely with Intel, NVIDIA and AMD, among others, to develop products that are compatible with the latest generation of industry-standard technologies under development. Our collaborative approach with these vendors allows us to coordinate the design of our new products with their product release schedules, thereby enhancing our ability to rapidly introduce new products incorporating the latest technology. We work closely with their respective development teams to enhance system performance and reduce system-level issues. Similarly, we work very closely with our customers to identify their needs and develop our new product plans accordingly.
Customers
During each of fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, we sold to over 1,000 direct customers in over 100 countries. In addition, over the three years ended June 30, 2023, we have sold to thousands of end users through our indirect sales channel. These customers represent a diverse set of market verticals including enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI, 5G and edge computing markets. In each of fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, no customer represented greater than 10% of our total net sales.
Sales and Marketing
Our sales and marketing activities are conducted through a combination of our direct sales force and our indirect sales channel partners. Our direct sales force is primarily focused on selling Total IT Solutions, including management software and global services to large scale cloud, enterprise and OEM customers. In addition, we are planning to offer optimized products with our command-center-based services, starting with a comprehensive product auto-configurator. The command center is the foundation of our expanding B2C and B2B programs.
We work with distributors, value-added resellers, system integrators, and OEMs to market and sell our optimized solutions to their end customers. We provide sales and marketing assistance and training to our indirect sales channel partners and OEMs, who in turn provide service and support to end customers. We leverage our relationships in our indirect sales channel and with our OEMs to penetrate select industry segments where our products can provide better alternatives to existing solutions.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 4
We maintain close contact with our indirect sales channel partners and end customers. We often collaborate during the sales process with our indirect sales channel partners and the end customer’s technical staff to help determine the optimal system configuration for the customer’s needs. Our interaction with our indirect sales channel partners and end customers allows us to monitor customer requirements and develop new products to meet their needs.
International Sales
Our global sales efforts are supported both by our international offices in the Netherlands, Taiwan, South Korea, United Kingdom, China and Japan as well as by our United States based sales team. Product fulfillment and first level support for our international customers are provided by Supermicro Global Services and through our indirect sales channel and OEMs. Sales to customers located outside of the United States represented 32.1%, 41.6% and 40.7% of net sales in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Marketing
Our marketing programs are designed to create a global awareness and branding for our company and products, as well as an understanding of the significant value we bring to customers. These programs also inform existing and potential customers, the trade press, market analysts, indirect sales channel partners and OEMs about the strong capabilities and benefits of using our products and solutions. Our marketing efforts support the sale and distribution of our products through both direct sales and indirect channels. We rely on a variety of marketing vehicles, including advertising, public relations, web, social media, participation in industry trade shows and conferences to help gain market acceptance. We provide funds for cooperative marketing to our indirect sales channel partners to extend the reach of our marketing efforts. We also actively utilize our suppliers’ cooperative marketing programs and jointly benefit from their marketing development funds to which we are entitled.
Intellectual Property
We seek to protect our intellectual property rights with a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws, and disclosure restrictions. We rely primarily on trade secrets, technical know-how, and other unpatented proprietary information relating to our design and product development activities. We also enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements with our employees, consultants, and other third parties and control access to our designs, documentation and other proprietary information.
Manufacturing and Quality Control
We manufacture the majority of our systems at our San Jose, California headquarters. We believe we are the only major server, storage and accelerated compute platform vendor that designs, develops, and manufactures a significant portion of their systems in the United States. Global assembly, test and quality control of our servers are performed at our manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California, Taiwan and the Netherlands. Each of our facilities Quality and Environmental Management System has been certified according to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and/or ISO 13485 standards. Our suppliers and contract manufacturers are required to support the same standards to maintain consistent product and service quality and continuous improvement of quality and environmental performance.
We use several third-party suppliers and contract manufacturers for materials and sub-assemblies. We believe that selectively using outsourced manufacturing services allows us to focus on our core competencies in product design and development and increases our operational flexibility. We believe our manufacturing strategy allows us to adjust manufacturing capacity in response to changes in customer demand and to rapidly introduce new products to the market. We use Ablecom Technology, Inc. (“Ablecom”) and its affiliate Compuware Technology, Inc. ("Compuware"), both of which are related parties, for contract design and manufacturing coordination support. We work with Ablecom to optimize modular designs for our chassis and several other components. Ablecom also coordinates the manufacturing of chassis for us. In addition to providing a large volume of contract manufacturing services to us, Ablecom warehouses multiple components and subassemblies manufactured by various suppliers before shipment to our facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia. We also have a series of agreements with Compuware, including multiple product development, production and service agreements, product manufacturing agreements and lease agreements for office space. See Part II, Item 8, Note 9, “Related Party Transactions,” to the consolidated financial statements and Part III, Item 13, “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence.”
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 5
We monitor our inventory continuously to be able to meet customer delivery requirements and to avoid inventory obsolescence. Due to our building-block designs, our inventory can generally be used with multiple different products, lowering working capital requirements and reducing the risk of inventory write-downs.
Competition
The market for our products is highly competitive, rapidly evolving and subject to new technological developments, changing customer needs and new product introductions. We compete primarily with large vendors of x86-based general purpose servers and components. In addition, we also compete with smaller vendors that specialize in the sale of server components and systems. In recent years, we have experienced increased competition from original design manufacturers ("ODMs”) that benefit from their scale and very low-cost manufacturing and are increasingly offering their own branded products. We believe our principal competitors include:
-
Global technology vendors, such as Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, and Lenovo;
-
ODMs, such as Foxconn, Quanta Computer, and Wiwynn Corporation; and
-
OEMs, such as Inspur.
The principal competitive factors in our market include the following:
-
First to market with new emerging technologies;
-
High product performance, efficiency and reliability;
-
Early identification of emerging opportunities;
-
Cost-effectiveness;
-
Interoperability of products;
-
Scalability; and
-
Localized and responsive customer support on a worldwide basis.
We believe that we compete favorably with respect to most of these factors. However, most of our competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater resources, greater name recognition and deeper market penetration. They may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can, which could allow them to respond more quickly to new technologies and changes in customer needs. In addition, it is possible that new competitors could emerge and acquire significant market share. See Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" risk titled “The market in which we participate is highly competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, we may not be able to increase our market penetration, grow our net sales or improve our gross margins.”
Government Regulation
Our worldwide business activities subject us to various federal, state, local, and foreign laws in the countries in which we operate, and our Total IT Solutions are subject to laws and regulations affecting their sale. To date, costs and accruals incurred to comply with these governmental regulations, including environmental regulations, have not been material to our capital expenditures, results of operations, and competitive position. Although there is no assurance that existing or future governmental laws and regulations, including environmental regulations, applicable to our operations or Total IT Solutions will not have a material adverse effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations, and competitive position, we do not currently anticipate material increases in expenditures for compliance with government regulations.
Human Capital Resources and Management
Mission, Culture, and Engagement
“The key to success in technology is designing a company around people committed to work that they love,” said Charles Liang, Supermicro Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. We aim to attract, develop, and retain a high performing and engaged global workforce.
As of June 30, 2023, we employed 5,126 full time employees, consisting of 2,448 employees in research and development, 585 employees in sales and marketing, 465 employees in general and administrative and 1,628 employees in manufacturing. Of these employees, 2,291 employees are based in our San Jose facilities. We consider our highly qualified and motivated employees to be a key factor in our business success. Our employees are not represented by any collective bargaining organization, and we have never experienced a work stoppage.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 6
We are committed to protecting the environment through our “We Keep IT Green” initiative as a first to market innovator in high-performance, high-efficiency server, storage, networking and management total solutions. We recognize the critical importance of talent and culture to our success and ability to fulfill this vision.
We encourage opportunities for growth and conduct regular performance reviews that set clear expectations to motivate employees and align their performance with company objectives. Supermicro Portal, our internal intranet, was created to keep employees informed about key changes to our business and company-wide resources.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
We strive to create a culture that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to boost team dynamics, productivity, and innovation within the organization. Employees should be treated fairly and respectfully despite differences and should feel accepted in the workplace to contribute their perspective and be valued. We are committed to increasing diversity in our workforce at all levels and regularly monitor our recruitment process with an aim to improve the diversity of our workforce and candidate pool.
Talent Development, Acquisition, Retention and Rewards
Talent Strategy
Our talent strategy focuses on attracting skilled, engaged employees who contribute the talent and skills critical to our innovative and forward-looking workforce. Our recruiting process actively sources talent supporting our ability to hire candidates with professional qualifications and potential. We identify opportunities through tracking and analyzing data from various sources such as annual performance reviews to assess our progress in ensuring critical talent are in critical roles.
It is our policy to ensure equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees without regard to prohibited considerations of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability or genetic information, marital status or any other classification protected by applicable local, state or federal laws. All employees receive training in the prevention of sexual harassment and abusive conduct in the workplace.
Total Rewards Program
Our total rewards program is designed to attract and reward talented individuals who possess the skills necessary to support our business objectives, assist in the achievement of our strategic goals and create long-term value for our stockholders. We provide employees with compensation packages that include base salary, incentive bonus programs, and long-term equity awards, including restricted stock units and options, tied to the value of our stock price. We believe that a compensation program with both short-term and long-term awards provides fair and competitive compensation and aligns employee and stockholder interests, including by incentivizing business and individual performance (pay for performance), motivating based on long-term company performance and integrating compensation with our business plans. In addition to cash and equity compensation, we also offer U.S. employees benefits such as life and health (medical, dental & vision) insurance, paid time off, sick leave, holiday pay, and a 401(k) plan. Outside of the U.S., we provide benefits based on local requirements and needs.
Health, Safety & Wellness
Throughout our history, we have maintained our commitment to providing a safe workplace that protects against and limits personal injury and environmental harm. We follow international standards and regulations for product safety and security. Our health and safety programs emphasize personal accountability, professional conduct, and regulatory compliance, while our culture fosters a sense of proactivity, caution, and communication. In the development of our products, we define and perform various tests to ensure Product Safety and Security. We evaluate risks using both government-required procedures and best practices to ensure we understand residual risk and appropriately protect our employees. We engage in proactive efforts to prevent occupational illnesses and injuries which allows us to maintain a safe, healthy, and secure workplace. We have a Safety Committee, which is designed to promote communications regarding health, safety, and emergency response procedures and to help implement improvements to our work areas and practices.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 7
We are committed to complying with applicable laws, including those associated with labor and employment, across all areas of our operations. In addition, we abide by global standards, irrespective of legal requirements, regarding the treatment of workers such as those detailed by the Responsible Business Alliance. These include prevention of excessive working hours and unfair wages, controls to prohibit child labor and human trafficking and bolstering workplace health and safety measures.
Board Oversight of Human Capital Management
Our Board of Directors, as a part of its overall responsibility to provide oversight, has purview over matters related to human capital management. Our Compensation Committee provides oversight of various matters related to human capital management, such as incentive compensation plans and equity compensation plans and the administration of such plans, compensation matters outside of the ordinary course, and compensation policies.
Corporate Information
We were founded in and maintain our worldwide headquarters and the majority of our employees in San Jose, California. We are one of the largest employers in the City of San Jose and an active member of the San Jose and Silicon Valley community.
We were incorporated in California in September 1993. We reincorporated in Delaware in March 2007. Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SMCI.” Our principal executive offices are located at 980 Rock Avenue, San Jose, California 95131, and our telephone number is (408) 503-8000. Our website address is www.supermicro.com.
Financial Information about Segments and Geographic Areas
Please see Part II, Item 8, Note 14, “Segment Reporting” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report for information regarding segment reporting and Part II, Item 8, Note 3, “Revenue - Disaggregation of Revenue” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report for information regarding our net sales by geographic region. See Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” for further information on risks associated with our international operations.
Working Capital
We focus considerable attention on managing our inventories and other working capital related items. We manage inventories by communicating with our customers and partners and using our industry experience to forecast demand. We place manufacturing orders for our products that are based on forecasted demand. We generally maintain substantial inventories of our products because the computer server industry is characterized by short lead-time orders and quick delivery schedules. Additionally, during the fiscal year 2023, the computer server industry experienced global supply chain shortage, which requires us to carry more inventories to fulfill our customers and partners’ demands and backlogs.
Available Information
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available free of charge, on or through our website at www.supermicro.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish those reports to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in, or made part of, this Annual Report or our other filings with, or reports furnished to, the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains our SEC filings.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 8
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Other events that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem immaterial also may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, other key metrics and the trading price of our common stock.
Risk Factor Summary
Operational and Execution Risks
-
Adverse economic conditions may harm our business.
-
Recent events in eastern Europe and the Taiwan Strait present challenges and risks to us, and no assurances can be given that current or future developments would not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
-
Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated and will likely fluctuate in the future.
-
Our revenue and margins for a particular period are difficult to predict, and a shortfall in revenue or decline in margins may harm our operating results.
-
As we increasingly target larger customers and larger sales opportunities, our customer base may become more concentrated, our cost of sales may increase, our margins may be lower, our borrowings may be higher with effects on our cash flow, we are exposed to inventory risks, and our sales may be less predictable.
-
If we fail to meet any publicly announced financial guidance or other expectations about our business, it could cause our stock to decline in value.
-
We may be unable to secure additional financing on favorable terms, or at all, which in turn could impair the rate of our growth.
-
Increases in average selling prices for our Total IT Solutions have historically significantly contributed to increases in net sales in some of the periods covered. Such prices are subject to decline if customers do not continue to purchase our latest generation products or additional components, which could harm our results of operations.
-
Our cost structure and ability to deliver server solutions to customers in a timely manner may be adversely affected by volatility of the market for core components and certain materials for our products.
-
We may lose sales or incur unexpected expenses relating to insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory.
-
Difficulties we encounter relating to automating internal controls utilizing our ERP systems or integrating processes that occur in other IT applications could adversely impact our controls environment.
-
System security violations, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and other related cyber-security issues could disrupt our internal operations or compromise the security of our products, and any such disruption could reduce our expected revenues, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.
-
Any failure to adequately expand or retain our sales force will impede our growth.
-
Conflicts of interest may arise with Ablecom and Compuware, and they may adversely affect our operations.
-
Our reliance on Ablecom could be subject to risks associated with our reliance on a limited source of contract manufacturing services and inventory warehousing.
-
If negative publicity arises with respect to us, our employees, our third-party service providers or our partners, our business and operating results could be adversely affected, regardless of whether the negative publicity is true.
-
If we lose Charles Liang, our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, or any other key employee, we may not be able to implement our business strategy in a timely manner.
-
Our direct sales efforts may create confusion for our end customers and harm our relationships in our indirect sales channel and with our OEMs.
-
If we are unable to attract and integrate additional key employees in a manner that enables us to scale our business and operations effectively, or if we do not maintain competitive compensation policies to retain our employees, our ability to operate effectively and efficiently could be limited.
Strategic and Industry Risks
-
If we do not successfully manage the expansion of our international manufacturing capacity and business operations, our business could be harmed.
-
We may not be able to successfully manage our business for growth and expansion.
-
Our growth into markets outside the United States exposes us to risks inherent in international business operations.
-
We depend upon the development of new products & enhancements to existing products. If we fail to predict or respond to emerging technological trends & our customers’ changing needs, our operating results and market share may suffer.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 9
-
The market in which we participate is highly competitive.
-
Industry consolidation may lead to increased competition and may harm our operating results.
-
We must work closely with our suppliers to make timely new product introductions.
-
Our suppliers’ failure to improve the functionality and performance of materials and key components for our products may impair or delay our ability to deliver innovative products to our customers.
-
We rely on a limited number of suppliers for certain components used to manufacture our products.
-
We rely on indirect sales channels and any disruption in these channels could adversely affect our sales.
-
Our failure to deliver high quality server and storage solutions could damage our reputation and diminish demand for our products.
-
Our results of operations may be subject to fluctuations based upon our investment in corporate ventures.
Legal and Regulatory Risks
-
Because our products and services may store, process and use data, some of which contains personal information, we are subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection and other matters.
-
Our operations could involve the use of regulated materials, and we must comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, which can be expensive.
-
If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock may decrease.
-
Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, other applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, and applicable trade control laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.
-
Any failure to protect our intellectual property could impair our brand and our competitiveness.
-
Resolution of claims that we have violated or may violate the intellectual property rights of others could require us to indemnify others or pay significant royalties to third parties.
-
Provisions of our governance documents and Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management.
Financial Risks
-
Our R&D expenditures, as a percentage of our net sales, are considerably higher than many of our competitors.
-
Our future effective income tax rates could be affected by changes in the relative mix of our operations and income among different geographic regions and by changes in domestic and foreign income tax laws.
-
Backlog does not provide a substantial portion of our net sales in any quarter.
Risks Related to Owning our Common Stock
-
The trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile.
-
Future sales of shares by existing stockholders, including any shares that have vested or may in the future vest under the 2021 CEO Performance Award, could cause our stock price to decline.
-
The concentration of our capital stock ownership with insiders likely limits your ability to influence corporate matters.
-
We do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.
General Risks
-
Our products may not be viewed as supporting climate change mitigation in the IT sector.
-
Our business and operations may be impacted by natural disaster events, including those brought on by climate ch
Showing the first 8K of 116K characters. Open the full section
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 32
As of June 30, 2023, we owned approximately 2,273,000 square feet and leased approximately 720,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. Our long-lived assets located outside of the United States represented 36.8%, 36.8% and 34.4% of total value of long-lived assets in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. See Part II, Item 8, Note 14, “Segment Reporting” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report for a summary of long-lived assets by geographic region.
Our principal executive offices, research and development center and production operations are located in San Jose, California where we own approximately 1,307,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space. We lease approximately 5,000 square feet of office space in Jersey City, New Jersey under a lease that expires in July 2025, lease approximately 46,000 square feet of office space in San Jose, California under a lease that expires in January 2028, lease approximately 246,000 square feet of warehouse space in Fremont, California under a lease that expires in July 2025, lease approximately 28,000 square feet of warehouse space in Milpitas, California under a lease that expires in March 2027. Subsequent to June 30, 2023, we entered into a five year lease for an additional approximate 124,000 square feet of warehouse space in San Jose, California. Our European headquarters for manufacturing and service operations is located in Den Bosch, the Netherlands where we own approximately 12,000 square feet of office and we lease approximately 203,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space under five leases, which expire in June 2026. In Asia, our manufacturing facilities are located in Taoyuan County, Taiwan where we own approximately 954,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space on 6.77 acres of land. These manufacturing facilities are pledged as security under the existing term loans with $38.2 million remaining outstanding as of June 30, 2023. Our research and development center, service operations, and warehouse space in Asia are located in an approximately 118,000 square feet facility in Taipei and Hsinchu, Taiwan under fourteen leases that expire at various dates ranging from January 2024 through February 2026 and an approximately 42,000 square feet facility in Taoyuan, Taiwan under three leases that expire in December 2023.
Additionally, we own 36 acres of land in San Jose, California that would allow us to expand our Green Computing Park. We completed the construction of our third new manufacturing and warehouse building with approximately 209,000 square feet of space in June 2021. In fiscal year 2023, we continued to engage several contractors for the development and construction of improvements on the property. We financed this development through our operating cash flows and borrowings from banks. See Part II, Item 8, Note 7, “Short-term and Long-term Debt” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report for a discussion of our company's debt.
During the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, we entered into a letter of understanding to acquire land in Malaysia to be used to expand our manufacturing operations. A definitive agreement to acquire such land, subject to various conditions, was subsequently executed in January 2023. We are obtaining early access to such land prior to acquisition.
We believe that our existing properties, including both owned and leased, are in good condition and are suitable for the conduct of our business.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to the information set forth under the caption “Litigation and Claims” in Part II, Item 8, Note 12 “Commitments and Contingencies” of our notes to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of legal proceedings, we cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings at this time, and we can give no assurance that they will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 33
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
We became a public company in March 2007, prior to which there was no public market for our common stock. On January 14, 2020, our common stock was relisted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SMCI".
Holders
As of July 31, 2023, there were 20 registered stockholders of record of our common stock. Because most of our shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial stockholders represented by these holders of record.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Under the terms of the credit agreement with Bank of America, as amended, we may not pay any dividends.
Equity Compensation Plan
Please see Part III, Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” of this Annual Report for disclosure relating to our equity compensation plans.
Stock Performance Graph
This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be "filed" with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Super Micro Computer, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
The following graph compares our cumulative five-year total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative return of the Nasdaq Computer Index and Nasdaq Composite Index. The graph reflects an investment of $100 (with reinvestment of all dividends, if any) in our common stock, the Nasdaq Computer Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index on June 30, 2018, and our relative performance tracked through June 30, 2023. The stockholder return shown on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future performance, and we do not make or endorse any predictions as to future stockholder returns.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 34

| 6/30/2018 | 6/30/2019 | 6/30/2020 | 6/30/2021 | 6/30/2022 | 6/30/2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Super Micro Computer, Inc. | 100.00 | 81.82 | 120.04 | 148.75 | 170.61 | 1,053.91 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nasdaq Composite Index | 100.00 | 106.60 | 133.93 | 193.12 | 146.85 | 183.59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nasdaq Computer Index | 100.00 | 108.22 | 155.03 | 233.08 | 190.10 | 260.87 |
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
During the three months ended June 30, 2023, we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock:
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased under the Plans or Programs (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Month 1 (April 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023) | — | $ | — | — | $50.0 Million | ||||||||||||||||||
| Month 2 (May 1, 2023 to May 31, 2023) | — | $ | — | — | $50.0 Million | ||||||||||||||||||
| Month 3 (June 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023) | — | $ | — | — | $50.0 Million | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | $ | — | — |
(1)On August 3, 2022, after the expiration of a prior share repurchase program on July 31, 2022, a duly authorized subcommittee of our Board approved a new share repurchase program to repurchase shares of our common stock for up to $200 million at prevailing prices in the open market. The share repurchase program is effective until January 31, 2024 or until the maximum amount of common stock is repurchased, whichever occurs first. As of June 30, 2023, $50 million remained available under the program.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 35
Item 6. [Reserved]
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 36
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes which appear elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report, particularly under the heading "Risk Factors."
Overview
We are a Silicon Valley-based provider of accelerated compute platforms that are application-optimized high performance and high-efficiency server and storage systems for a variety of markets, including enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI, 5G and edge computing. Our Total IT Solutions include complete servers, storage systems, modular blade servers, blades, workstations, full rack-scale solutions, networking devices, server sub-systems, server management and security software. We also provide global support and services to help our customers install, upgrade and maintain their computing infrastructure.
We commenced operations in 1993 and have been profitable every year since inception. For fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, our net income was $640.0 million, $285.2 million and $111.9 million, respectively. In order to increase our sales and profits, we believe that we must continue to develop flexible and application optimized server and storage solutions and be among the first to market with new features and products. We must also continue to expand our software and customer service and support offerings, particularly as we increasingly focus on larger enterprise customers. Additionally, we must focus on development of our sales partners and distribution channels to further expand our market share. We measure our financial success based on various indicators, including growth in net sales, gross profit margin and operating margin. Among the key non-financial indicators of our success is our ability to rapidly introduce new products and deliver the latest application-optimized server and storage solutions. In this regard, we work closely with microprocessor and other key component vendors to take advantage of new technologies as they are introduced. Historically, our ability to introduce new products rapidly has allowed us to benefit from technology transitions such as the introduction of new microprocessors and storage technologies, and as a result, we monitor the product introduction cycles of Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Samsung Electronics Company Limited, Micron Technology, Inc. and others closely and carefully. This also impacts our research and development expenditures as we continue to invest more in our current and future product development efforts.
COVID-19 Pandemic Impact
Our business and financial outlook have experienced, and may continue to face, challenges due to adverse macroeconomic conditions and uncertainties. These factors encompass labor shortages, disruptions in the supply chain, inflation, higher interest rates, and fluctuations in capital markets. The global business landscape encountered widespread disruption as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which commenced in early 2020. The extent of its direct or indirect impact on general market conditions, as well as our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition, is contingent upon uncertain future developments, including the emergence of new variants.
We remain committed to continuously assessing the nature and extent of the impact of general macroeconomic conditions and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our business. For a more comprehensive discussion, please refer to the "Risk Factors" included in Part I, Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Financial Highlights
The following is a summary of financial highlights of fiscal years 2023 and 2022:
-
Net sales increased by 37.1% in fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022.
-
Gross margin increased to 18.0% in fiscal year 2023 from 15.4% in fiscal year 2022, primarily due to product and customer mix and decreased logistic costs.
-
Operating expenses increased by 12.3% in fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022, primarily due to the increase in personnel expenses as a result of salary increases, equity grants and a higher headcount.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 37
-
Net income increased to $640.0 million in fiscal year 2023 as compared to $285.2 million in fiscal year 2022, which was primarily due to the higher net sales and lower operating expenses as a percentage of revenues in fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022.
-
Our cash and cash equivalents were $440.5 million and $267.4 million at the end of fiscal years 2023 and 2022, respectively. In fiscal year 2023, we generated net cash of $172.4 million, comprised of $663.6 million provided by operating activities primarily due to increased net income, $448.3 million used in financing activities primarily due to repayment of debt and stock repurchase, and $39.5 million cash used in investing activities primarily due to $36.8 million in purchases of property and equipment.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
General
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, net sales and expenses. We evaluate our estimates on an on-going basis based on a) historical experience, b) assumptions we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances and are not readily apparent from other sources, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Because these estimates can vary depending on the situation, actual results may differ from the estimates. Making estimates and judgments about future events is inherently unpredictable and is subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. Should any of these estimates and assumptions change or prove to have been incorrect, it could have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position and statement of cash flows. These estimates and judgements have not fluctuated significantly for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 compared to prior fiscal years.
A summary of significant accounting policies is included in Part II, Item 8, Note 1, “Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in our notes to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report. Management believes the following are the most critical accounting policies and reflect the significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.
Revenue Recognition
The most critical accounting policy estimate and judgments required in applying ASC 606, Revenue Recognition of Contracts from Customers, and our revenue recognition policy relate to the determination of the transaction price, distinct performance obligations and the evaluation of the standalone selling price (the “SSP”) for each performance obligation.
We generate revenues from the sale of server and storage systems, subsystems, accessories, services, server software management solutions, and support services. Many of our customer contracts include multiple performance obligations. Judgment is required in determining whether each performance obligation within a customer contract is distinct. This assessment involves subjective determinations and requires management to make judgments about the individual promised goods or services and whether such goods or services are separable from the other aspects of the contractual relationship.
As part of determining the transaction price in contracts with customers, we may be required to estimate variable consideration when determining the amount of revenue to recognize. We estimate reserves for future sales returns based on a review of our history of actual returns. Based upon historical experience, a refund liability is recorded at the time of sale for estimated product returns and an asset is recognized for the amount expected to be recorded in inventory upon product return, less the expected recovery costs. We also estimate the costs of customer and distributor programs and incentive offerings such as price protection, customer rebates, as well as the estimated costs of cooperative marketing arrangements where the fair value of the benefit derived from the costs cannot be reasonably estimated. Any provision is recorded as a reduction of revenue at the time of sale based on an evaluation of the contract terms and historical experience.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 38
We allocate the transaction price for each customer contract to each performance obligation based on the relative SSP for each performance obligation within each contract. We recognize the amount of transaction price allocated to each performance obligation within a customer contract as revenue at the time the respective performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control of the promised good or service to a customer. Determining the relative SSP for contracts that contain multiple performance obligations requires significant judgement. We determine standalone selling prices based on the price at which the performance obligation is sold separately. If the standalone selling price is not observable through past transactions, we apply judgment to estimate the SSP. For substantially all performance obligations, we are able to establish the SSP based on the observable prices of products or services sold separately in comparable circumstances to similar customers. We typically establish an SSP range for our products and services, which is reassessed on a periodic basis or when facts and circumstances change. SSP for our products and services can evolve over time due to changes in our pricing practices, internally approved pricing guidelines with respect to geographies, customer type, internal costs, and gross margin objectives for the related performance obligations which can also be influenced by intense competition, changes in demand for our products and services, economic and other factors.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at lower of cost, using weighted average cost method, or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price of our products in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. Inventories consist of purchased parts and raw materials (principally electronic components), work in process (principally products being assembled) and finished goods. We evaluate inventory on a quarterly basis for lower of cost or net realizable value and excess and obsolescence and, as necessary, write down the valuation of inventories based upon our inventory aging, forecasted usage and sales, anticipated selling price, product obsolescence and other factors. Once inventory is written down, its new value is maintained until it is sold or scrapped.
We receive various rebate incentives from certain suppliers based on our contractual arrangements, including volume-based rebates. The rebates earned are recognized as a reduction of cost of inventories and reduce the cost of sales in the period when the related inventory is sold. We determine the volume-based rebates to be recognized in the cost of sales on a first-in, first-out basis.
Income Taxes
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate. We estimate actual current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as accruals and allowances not currently deductible for tax purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets, which are included in our consolidated balance sheets. In general, deferred tax assets represent future tax benefits to be received when certain expenses previously recognized in our consolidated statements of income become deductible expenses under applicable income tax laws, or when loss or credit carryforwards are utilized. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. We continue to assess the need for a valuation allowance on the deferred tax assets by evaluating both positive and negative evidence that may exist. Any adjustment to the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets would be recorded in the consolidated statements of income for the period that the adjustment is determined to be required.
We recognize tax liabilities for uncertain income tax positions on the income tax return based on the two-step process. The first step is to determine whether it is more likely than not that each income tax position would be sustained upon audit. The second step is to estimate and measure the tax benefit as the amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with the tax authority. Estimating these amounts requires us to determine the probability of various possible outcomes. We evaluate these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on the consideration of several factors, including changes in facts or circumstances, changes in applicable tax law, settlement of issues under audit and new exposures. If we later determine that our exposure is lower or that the liability is not sufficient to cover our revised expectations, we adjust the liability and reflect a related charge in our tax provision during the period in which we make such a determination.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 39
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure and recognize compensation expense for all share-based awards made to employees and non-employees, including stock options, restricted stock units ("RSUs") and performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”). We recognize the grant date fair value of all share-based awards over the requisite service period and account for forfeitures as they occur. Stock option and RSU awards are recognized to expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. PRSU awards are recognized to expense using an accelerated method only when it is probable that a performance condition is met during the vesting period. If it is not probable, no expense is recognized and the previously recognized expense is reversed. We base initial accrual of compensation expense on the estimated number of PRSUs that are expected to vest over the requisite service period. That estimate is revised if subsequent information indicates that the actual number of PRSUs is likely to differ from previous estimates. The cumulative effect on current and prior periods of a change in the estimated number of PRSUs expected to vest is recognized in stock-based compensation expense in the period of the change. Previously recognized compensation expense is not reversed if vested stock options, RSUs or PRSUs for which the requisite service has been rendered and the performance condition has been met expire unexercised or are not settled.
The fair value of RSUs and PRSUs is based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of grant. We estimate the fair value of stock options granted using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. This model requires us to make estimates and assumptions with respect to the expected term of the option and the expected volatility of the price of our common stock. The expected term represents the period that our stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding and was determined based on our historical experience. The expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of our common stock. The assumptions used to determine the fair value of the option awards represent management’s best estimates. These estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. Our use of the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the input of highly subjective assumptions. If factors change and different assumptions are used, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.
Results of Operations
The following table presents certain items of our consolidated statements of operations expressed as a percentage of revenue.
| Years Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Net sales | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost of sales | 82.0 | % | 84.6 | % | 85.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Gross profit | 18.0 | % | 15.4 | % | 15.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | 4.3 | % | 5.2 | % | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 1.6 | % | 1.7 | % | 2.4 | % | |||||||||||
| General and administrative | 1.4 | % | 2.0 | % | 2.8 | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 7.3 | % | 8.9 | % | 11.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Income from operations | 10.7 | % | 6.5 | % | 3.5 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | 0.1 | % | 0.2 | % | (0.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | (0.1) | % | (0.1) | % | (0.1) | % | |||||||||||
| Income before income tax provision | 10.7 | % | 6.6 | % | 3.3 | % | |||||||||||
| Income tax provision | (1.6) | % | (1.0) | % | (0.2) | % | |||||||||||
| Share of (loss) income from equity investee, net of taxes | (0.1) | % | — | % | — | % | |||||||||||
| Net income | 9.0 | % | 5.6 | % | 3.1 | % |
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 40
Net Sales
Net sales consist of sales of our server and storage solutions, including systems and related services and subsystems and accessories. The main factors that impact net sales of our server and storage systems are the number of compute nodes sold and the average selling prices per node. The main factors that impact net sales of our subsystems and accessories are units shipped and the average selling price per unit. The prices for our server and storage systems range widely depending upon the configuration, including the number of compute nodes in a server system as well as the level of integration of key components such as SSDs and memory. The prices for our subsystems and accessories can also vary widely based on whether a customer is purchasing power supplies, server boards, chassis or other accessories.
A compute node is an independent hardware configuration within a server system capable of having its own CPU, memory and storage and that is capable of running its own instance of a non-virtualized operating system. The number of compute nodes sold, which can vary by product, is an important metric we use to track our business. Measuring volume using compute nodes enables more consistent measurement across different server form factors and across different vendors. As with most electronics-based product life cycles, average selling prices typically are highest at the time of introduction of new products that utilize the latest technology and tend to decrease over time as such products mature in the market and are replaced by next generation products. Additionally, in order to remain competitive throughout all industry cycles, we actively change our selling price per unit in response to changes in costs for key components such as CPU/GPU, memory and storage.
The following table presents net sales by product type for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Server and storage systems | $ | 6,569.8 | $ | 4,463.8 | $ | 2,790.3 | $ | 2,106.0 | 47.2 | % | $ | 1,673.5 | 60.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 92.2 | % | 85.9 | % | 78.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subsystems and accessories | 553.7 | 732.3 | 767.1 | (178.6) | (24.4) | % | (34.8) | (4.5) | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 7.8 | % | 14.1 | % | 21.6 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total net sales | $ | 7,123.5 | $ | 5,196.1 | $ | 3,557.4 | $ | 1,927.4 | 37.1 | % | $ | 1,638.7 | 46.1 | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
During fiscal year 2023 we experienced increased revenue from server and storage systems, particularly from our large enterprise and datacenter customers. The year-over-year increase in net sales of server and storage systems was primarily due to the strong demands from such customers for GPU, high performance computing (“HPC”), and rack-scale solutions which are generally more complex and of higher value, resulting in an increase of average selling prices. The year-over-year decrease in net sales of subsystems and accessories was primarily due to our emphasis on selling full systems and servers. Our services and software revenue, included in server and storage systems revenue, increased by $28.0 million year-over-year.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
During fiscal year 2022 we experienced increased revenue from server and storage systems, particularly from our large enterprise and datacenter customers. The year-over-year increase in net sales of server and storage systems was primarily due to an increase of average selling prices per compute node by approximately 32% as well as an increase of approximately 23% in the number of units of compute nodes sold. The year-over-year decrease in net sales of subsystems and accessories was primarily due to our emphasis on selling full systems and servers. Our services and software revenue, included in server and storage systems revenue, increased by $2.5 million year-over-year.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 41
The following table presents percentages of net sales by geographic region for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | $ | 4,834.1 | $ | 3,035.5 | $ | 2,107.9 | $ | 1,798.6 | 59.3 | % | $ | 927.6 | 44.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 67.9 | % | 58.4 | % | 59.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asia | 1,050.8 | 1,139.9 | 699.7 | (89.1) | (7.8) | % | 440.2 | 62.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 14.7 | % | 21.9 | % | 19.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Europe | 1,003.1 | 825.2 | 614.8 | 177.9 | 21.6 | % | 210.4 | 34.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 14.1 | % | 15.9 | % | 17.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | 235.5 | 195.5 | 135.0 | 40.0 | 20.5 | % | 60.5 | 44.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 3.3 | % | 3.7 | % | 3.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total net sales | $ | 7,123.5 | $ | 5,196.1 | $ | 3,557.4 | $ | 1,927.4 | 37.1 | % | $ | 1,638.7 | 46.1 | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The year-over-year increase in overall net sales is the result of increased selling prices and units shipped of product sold especially to large enterprise and datacenter customers. The United States experienced the highest percentage growth among all regions. This is due to increased demand from datacenter customers in the United States for GPU, high performance computing (“HPC”), and rack-scale solutions. The year-over-year decrease in Asia is mainly due to economic slowdown in China and Japan during fiscal year 2023 which heavily reduced the sales activities in that region.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The year-over-year increase in overall net sales is the result of increased selling prices and quantities of product shipments. Asia experienced the highest percentage growth among all regions. China, Japan and Korea exceeded the overall regional average of growth, which was the primary driver of the increases in net sales in Asia. Russia experienced a year over year decrease due to the conflict in that region, which decrease had an immaterial impact on our overall performance.
Cost of Sales and Gross Margin
Cost of sales primarily consists of the costs to manufacture our products, including the costs of materials, contract manufacturing, shipping, personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and incentive bonuses, equipment and facility expenses, warranty costs and inventory excess and obsolescence provisions. The primary factors that impact our cost of sales are the mix of products sold and cost of materials, which include purchased parts and material costs, shipping costs, salary and benefits and overhead costs related to production as well as economies of scale gained from higher production volume in our facilities. Cost of sales as a percentage of net sales may increase or decrease over time if the changes in average selling prices are not matched by corresponding changes in our costs. Our cost of sales as a percentage of net sales is also impacted by the extent to which we are able to efficiently utilize our expanding manufacturing capacity. Because we generally do not have long-term fixed supply agreements, our cost of sales is subject to frequent change based on the availability of materials and other market conditions.
We use several suppliers and contract manufacturers to design and manufacture subsystems in accordance with our specifications, with most final assembly and testing performed at our manufacturing facilities in the same region where our products are sold. We work with Ablecom, one of our key contract manufacturers and also a related party, to optimize modular designs for our chassis and certain other components. We also outsource to Compuware, also a related party, a portion of our design activities and a significant part of the manufacturing of components, particularly power supplies. Our purchases of products from Ablecom and Compuware combined represented 6.6%, 8.3% and 7.8% of our cost of sales for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. For further details on our dealings with related parties, see Part II, Item 8, Note 9, “Related Party Transactions.”
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 42
Cost of sales and gross margin for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, are as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of sales | $ | 5,840.5 | $ | 4,396.1 | $ | 3,022.9 | $ | 1,444.4 | 32.9 | % | $ | 1,373.2 | 45.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross profit | 1,283.0 | 800.0 | 534.5 | 483.0 | 60.4 | % | 265.5 | 49.7 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 18.0 | % | 15.4 | % | 15.0 | % | 2.6 | % | 0.4 | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The year-over-year increase in cost of sales was primarily attributed to an increase of $1,379.6 million in costs of materials and contract manufacturing expenses primarily related to the increased shipments of our products and solutions, a $59.2 million increase in overhead costs which includes labor costs attributed to increase of operation activities, a $36.6 million increase in inventory reserves, and a $13.6 million increase in other cost of sales partially offset by a $44.6 million decrease in freight charges due to a reduced need to expedite shipments due to disruptions in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The year-over-year increase in the gross margin percentage was primarily due to favorable product and customer mix and lower other cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales, based on higher volumes.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The year-over-year increase in cost of sales was primarily attributed to an increase of $1,262.6 million in costs of materials and contract manufacturing expenses primarily related to the increase in net sales volume, a $54.9 million increase in freight charges, a $23.6 million increase in overhead costs, a $18.9 million increase due to lower cost recovery of cost paid in prior periods, a $8.3 million increase in excess and obsolete inventory charges and a $4.9 million increase in other cost of sales.
The year-over-year increase in the gross margin percentage was primarily due to sales prices increases, product and customer mix and higher capitalization of manufacturing overhead due to higher inventory levels, offset by higher costs from freight, overhead, other cost of sales, excess and obsolete inventory charges, and lower recovery of costs from prior periods. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have experienced an increase in costs of sales, logistics costs as well as direct labor costs as we incentivized our employees. This increase in costs negatively impacts our gross margin, and we expect these higher costs to continue for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operating Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and incentive bonuses, and related expenses for our research and development personnel, as well as product development costs such as materials and supplies, consulting services, third-party testing services and equipment and facility expenses related to our research and development activities. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We occasionally receive non-recurring engineering ("NRE") funding from certain suppliers and customers for joint development. Under these arrangements, we are reimbursed for certain research and development costs that we incur as part of the joint development efforts with our suppliers and customers. These amounts offset a portion of the related research and development expenses and have the effect of reducing our reported research and development expenses.
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and incentive bonuses, and related expenses for our sales and marketing personnel, cost for tradeshows, independent sales representative fees and marketing programs. From time to time, we receive marketing development funding from certain suppliers. Under these arrangements, we are reimbursed for certain marketing costs that we incur as part of the joint promotion of our products and those of our suppliers. These amounts offset a portion of the related expenses and have the effect of reducing our reported sales and marketing expenses. The timing, magnitude and estimated usage of these programs can result in significant variations in reported sales and marketing expenses from period to period. Spending on cooperative marketing, reimbursed by our suppliers, typically increases in connection with new product releases by our suppliers.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 43
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of general corporate costs, including personnel expenses such as salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation and incentive bonuses, and related expenses for our general and administrative personnel, financial reporting, information technology, corporate governance and compliance, outside legal, audit, tax fees, insurance and bad debt reserves on accounts receivable.
Operating expenses for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Research and development | $ | 307.3 | $ | 272.3 | $ | 224.4 | $ | 35.0 | 12.9 | % | $ | 47.9 | 21.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 4.3 | % | 5.2 | % | 6.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 115.0 | 90.1 | 85.7 | 24.9 | 27.6 | % | 4.4 | 5.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 1.6 | % | 1.7 | % | 2.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 99.6 | 102.4 | 100.5 | (2.8) | (2.7) | % | 1.9 | 1.9 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 1.4 | % | 2.0 | % | 2.8 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | $ | 521.9 | $ | 464.8 | $ | 410.6 | 57.1 | 12.3 | % | 54.2 | 13.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The year-over-year increase in research and development expenses was primarily driven by a $43.5 million increase in compensation expenses due to salary increases, higher headcount and the cost of equity awards as we expanded our workforce and invested in key talent, and a $2.6 million increase in product development costs to support the development of next generation products and technologies, offset by a $11.1 million increase in research and development credits received from certain suppliers and customers.
The year-over-year increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily driven by a $23.8 million increase in compensation expenses due to salary increases, higher headcount and the cost of equity awards and a $4.6 million increase in travel and trade show expenses to drive new sales opportunities for our products and customer support, offset by a $3.5 million increase in marketing development funds received.
The year-over-year decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a $5.2 million decrease in professional fees and other, a $2.0 million decrease in litigation settlement expenses relating to a derivative lawsuit, partially offset by an increase of $4.4 million in compensation expenses associated with the cost of equity awards.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The year-over-year increase in research and development expenses was primarily due to a $40.8 million increase in personnel expenses due to salary increases and a higher headcount, $3.7 million lower research and development credits from certain suppliers and customers towards our development efforts and a $3.4 million increase in product development costs.
The year-over-year increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily due to a $9.6 million increase in personnel expenses due to salary increases and a higher headcount, offset by a $5.7 million increase in marketing development funds received and a $0.5 million increase in advertising and other expenses.
The year-over-year increase in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to a $4.1 million increase in legal and litigation settlement expenses and $6.6 million increase in personnel and other expenses due to salary increases and a higher headcount offset by decrease of $1.5 million in professional fees driven by lower expenses incurred to remediate the causes that led to the delay in filing our periodic reports with the SEC and the associated restatement of our previously issued financial statements and a $7.3 million decrease in expense from special performance awards.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net consists primarily of interest earned on our investment and cash balances and foreign exchange gains and losses.
Interest expense represents interest expense on our term loans and lines of credit.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 44
Interest and other income (expense), net for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 3.6 | $ | 8.1 | $ | (2.8) | $ | (4.5) | (55.6) | % | $ | 10.9 | (389.3) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (10.5) | (6.4) | (2.5) | (4.1) | 64.1 | % | (3.9) | 156.0 | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest and other income (expense), net | $ | (6.9) | $ | 1.7 | $ | (5.3) | $ | (8.6) | (505.9) | % | $ | 7.0 | (132.1) | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The change of $8.6 million in interest and other income (expense), net was primarily attributable to a $4.5 million decrease in foreign exchange gain due to unfavorable currency fluctuations primarily related to our borrowing facilities in Taiwan and a $4.1 million increase in interest expense due to increase in interest rates on our outstanding loan balances.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The change of $7.0 million in interest and other income (expense), net was primarily attributable to a $10.9 million increase in foreign exchange gain due to favorable currency fluctuations primarily related to our borrowing facilities in Taiwan offset by a $3.9 million increase in interest expense due to increase in loan balances and interest rates.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our income tax provision is based on our taxable income generated in the jurisdictions in which we operate, which primarily include the United States, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. Our effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate primarily due to research and development tax credits, certain non-deductible expenses, tax benefits from foreign derived intangible income and stock-based compensation. A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in Part II, Item 8, Note 11, “Income Taxes” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report.
Provision for income taxes and effective tax rates for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax provision | $ | 110.7 | $ | 52.9 | $ | 6.9 | $ | 57.8 | 109.3 | % | $ | 46.0 | 666.7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | 1.6 | % | 1.0 | % | 0.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | 14.7 | % | 15.7 | % | 5.8 | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The year-over-year decrease in the effective tax rate is attributable to higher tax deductions from disqualified disposition of stock-based compensation, an increase in the R&D tax credit, and an increase in foreign-derived income. As a result of these favorable elements which were partially offset by certain unfavorable items including an increase in state taxes, the total effective tax rate decreased by 1%, declining from 15.7% in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022, to 14.7% in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The year-over-year increase in the effective tax rate was primarily due to a significant increase in revenue and income before tax. Total effective tax rate increased by 9.5% from 5.8% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 to 15.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. This increase was driven by a 15.4% increase in the overall effective tax rate. R&D credit reduced the effective tax rate by 3.5% and foreign derived income reduced the effective tax rate by 1.4%.
Share of Income (Loss) from Equity Investee, Net of Taxes
Share of income from equity investee, net of taxes represents our share of income (loss) from the Corporate Venture in which we have a 30% ownership.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 45
Share of income (loss) from equity investee, net of taxes for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 Change | 2022 over 2021 Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | $ | % | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share of income (loss) from equity investee, net of taxes | $ | (3.6) | $ | 1.2 | $ | 0.2 | $ | (4.8) | (400.0) | % | $ | 1.0 | (500.0) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percentage of total net sales | — | % | — | % | — | % |
Fiscal Year 2023 Compared with Fiscal Year 2022
The period-over-period decrease of $4.8 million in share of income from equity investee, net of taxes was primarily due to lower net income recognized by the Corporate Venture.
Fiscal Year 2022 Compared with Fiscal Year 2021
The period-over-period increase of $1.0 million in share of income from equity investee, net of taxes was primarily due to more net income recognized by the Corporate Venture.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have financed our growth primarily with funds generated from operations, in addition to utilizing borrowing facilities, particularly in relation to an increase in the need for working capital due to longer supply chain manufacturing and delivery times as well as the financing of real property acquisitions and funds received from the exercise of employee stock options. Our cash and cash equivalents were $440.5 million and $267.4 million as of June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our cash in foreign locations was $192.3 million and $169.5 million as of June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Amounts held outside of the U.S. are generally utilized to support non-U.S. liquidity needs. Repatriations generally will not be taxable from a U.S. federal tax perspective but may be subject to state income or foreign withholding tax. Where local restrictions prevent an efficient intercompany transfer of funds, our intent is to keep cash balances outside of the U.S. and to meet liquidity needs through operating cash flows, external borrowings, or both. We do not expect restrictions or potential taxes incurred on repatriation of amounts held outside of the U.S. to have a material effect on our overall liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
We believe that our current cash, cash equivalents, borrowing capacity available from our credit facilities and internally generated cash flows will be sufficient to support our operating businesses and maturing debt and interest payments for the 12 months following the issuance of these consolidated financial statements. On June 17, 2023, the Company through the Taiwan subsidiary, entered into a Notification and Confirmation pursuant to which the Taiwan subsidiary and E.SUN Bank agreed to drawdowns of up to US$30 million for an import o/a financing loan with a tenor of 120 days (the “2023 Import O/A Loan”). We continue to evaluate financing options that may be required to support the growth of our business, if it occurs more rapidly than anticipated.
On January 29, 2021, a duly authorized subcommittee of the Board of Directors approved the Prior Repurchase Program, which permitted us to repurchase up to an aggregate of $200.0 million of our common stock at market prices. The program was effective until the earlier of July 31, 2022 or the date when the maximum amount of common stock is repurchased. We had $150.0 million of remaining availability under the Prior Repurchase Program as of June 30, 2022, and such program subsequently expired on July 31, 2022.
On August 3, 2022, after the expiration of the Prior Share Repurchase Program on July 31, 2022, a duly authorized subcommittee of our Board approved a new share repurchase program to repurchase shares of our common stock for up to $200 million at prevailing prices in the open market. The share repurchase program is effective until January 31, 2024 or until the maximum amount of common stock is repurchased, whichever occurs first. We repurchased 1,553,350 shares of common stock for $150 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 under this program and had $50.0 million of remaining availability as of June 30, 2023.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 46
Our key cash flow metrics were as follows (dollars in millions):
| Years Ended June 30, | 2023 over 2022 | 2022 over 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | $ | 663.6 | $ | (440.8) | $ | 123.0 | $ | 1,104.4 | $ | (563.8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (39.5) | $ | (46.3) | $ | (58.0) | $ | 6.8 | $ | 11.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | $ | (448.3) | $ | 522.9 | $ | (44.4) | $ | (971.2) | $ | 567.3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 172.4 | $ | 35.1 | $ | 21.1 | $ | 137.3 | $ | 14.0 |
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $1,104.4 million for fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase in net cash provided from net working capital of $796.7 million, a $354.8 million increase in net income due to the increase in sales of our products and solutions, a $21.6 million increase in stock-based compensation expense as a result of an increase in the cost of equity awards, a $11.1 million decrease in unrealized gain due to currency fluctuation, and a $6.4 million increase in other non-cash items. These changes are offset by an increase of $86.2 million in deferred income taxes primarily due to increase in capitalized research and development costs.
Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $563.8 million for fiscal year 2022 as compared to fiscal year 2021. The decrease was primarily due to an increase in net cash required for net working capital of $739.6 million to meet customer demand, support expected business growth and mitigate supply chain risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic environment and a $16.2 million decrease in unrealized gain and loss. These decreases are partially offset by increases in provision for excess and obsolete inventories of $8.3 million, depreciation and amortization expense of $4.3 million, stock-based compensation expense of $4.3 million and net income of $173.3 million. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying supply chain disruptions our management decided to increase our holdings of all components of our inventory (finished goods, work in process and purchased parts and raw materials). This decision reflected our belief that we had opportunities to increase our net sales if we could mitigate the risk of being unable to satisfy customer demand because of these supply chain disruptions, including longer lead times. We expect disruption of the supply chain and longer lead times to continue for the foreseeable future and therefore expect to continue to carry larger amounts of inventory than we would if the supply chain were functioning more normally and predictably.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $39.5 million, $46.3 million and $58.0 million for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, as we invested in our Green Computing Park in San Jose to expand our manufacturing capacity and office, expanded our Bade Facility in Taiwan and made purchases of property, plant and equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities increased by $971.2 million for fiscal year 2023 as compared to fiscal year 2022 primarily due to repurchases of our common stock for $150.0 million reflecting our commitment to return value to our shareholders and repayment of net borrowings of $813.2 million. Net cash used in financing activities increased by $567.3 million for fiscal year 2022 as compared to fiscal year 2021 primarily due to an increase of $446.2 million in proceeds from borrowings net of repayment, offset by a $130.0 million decrease in stock repurchases.
Other Factors Affecting Liquidity and Capital Resources
Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 7, “Short-term and Long-term Debt” in our notes to consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on our outstanding debt.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 47
Capital Expenditure Requirements
We anticipate our capital expenditures in fiscal year 2024 will be in range of $105.0 million to $115.0 million, relating primarily to costs associated with our manufacturing capabilities, including tooling for new products, new information technology investments, and facilities upgrades. During the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, we entered into a letter of understanding to acquire land in Malaysia to expand our manufacturing operations. A definitive agreement to acquire such land, subject to various conditions, was subsequently executed in January 2023. We are obtaining early access to such land prior to the acquisition, and we anticipate additional capital expenditures in fiscal year 2024 of $75.0 million (included in the above range) for such initiative. In addition, we will continue to evaluate new business opportunities and new markets. As a result, our future growth within the existing business or new opportunities and markets may dictate the need for additional facilities and capital expenditures to support that growth. We evaluate capital expenditure projects based on a variety of factors, including expected strategic impacts (such as forecasted impact on revenue growth, productivity, expenses, service levels and customer retention) and our expected return on investment.
We intend to continue to focus our capital expenditures in fiscal year 2024 to support the growth of our operations. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, the expansion of sales and marketing activities, the introduction of new and enhanced software and services offerings and investments in our office facilities and our IT system infrastructure.
Contractual Obligations
Our estimated future obligations as of June 30, 2023, include both current and long term obligations. For our long-term debt as noted in Part II, Item 8, Note 7, “Short-term and Long-term Debt”, we have a current obligation of $170.1 million and a long-term obligation of $120.2 million. Under our operating leases as noted in Part II, Item 8, Note 8, "Leases", we have a current obligation of $7.8 million and a long-term obligation of $12.2 million. As noted in Part II, Item 8, Note 12, "Commitments and Contingencies", we have current obligations related to noncancelable purchase commitments of $2.3 billion.
We have not provided a detailed estimate of the payment timing of unrecognized tax benefits due to the uncertainty of
when the related tax settlements will become due. See Part II, Item 8, Note 11, “Income Taxes” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report for a discussion of income taxes.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our consolidated financial statements, see Part II, Item 8, Note 1, “Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to the consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 48
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
The primary objectives of our investment activities are to preserve principal, provide liquidity and maximize income without significantly increasing the risk. Some of the securities we invest in are subject to market risk. This means that a change in prevailing interest rates may cause the fair value of the investment to fluctuate. To minimize this risk, we maintain our portfolio of cash equivalents and short-term investments in money market funds and certificates of deposit. Our investment in an auction rate security has been classified as non-current due to the lack of a liquid market for these securities. Since our results of operations are not dependent on investments, the risk associated with fluctuating interest rates is limited to our investment portfolio, and we believe that a 10% change in interest rates would not have a significant impact on our results of operations. As of June 30, 2023, our investments were in money market funds, certificates of deposits and auction rate securities.
We are exposed to changes in interest rates as a result of our borrowings under our term loan and revolving lines of credit. The interest rates for the term loans and the revolving lines of credit ranged from 1.20% to 7.08% at June 30, 2023. Based on the outstanding principal indebtedness of $290.3 million under our credit facilities as of June 30, 2023, we believe that a 10% change in interest rates would not have a significant impact on our results of operations.
Foreign Currency Risk
To date, our international customer and supplier agreements have been denominated primarily in U.S. dollars and accordingly, we have limited exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations from customer agreements, and do not currently engage in foreign currency hedging transactions. The functional currency of our subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Taiwan is the U.S. dollar. However, certain loans and transactions in these entities are denominated in a currency other than the U.S. dollar, and thus we are subject to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations associated with re-measurement to U.S. dollars. Such fluctuations have not been significant historically. Realized and unrealized foreign exchange gain (loss) for fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021 was $0.2 million, $7.7 million and $(3.2) million, respectively.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 49
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 50
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Super Micro Computer, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Super Micro Computer, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of June 30, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2023, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of June 30, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended June 30, 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated August 25, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Inventories - Excess and Obsolescence Reserve — Refer to Notes 1 and 5 to the financial statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
The Company’s inventories are stated at lower of cost, using weighted average cost method, or net realizable value. The Company evaluates inventory on a quarterly basis for excess and obsolescence and lower of cost or net realizable value and, as necessary, writes down the valuation of inventory based upon inventory aging, forecasted usage and sales, anticipated selling price, product obsolescence and other factors.
We identified the excess and obsolescence reserve as a critical audit matter because of judgments made by management in determining the reserve rates applied by inventory aging category to estimate the Company’s excess and obsolescence reserve. This required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort when performing audit procedures to evaluate the reasonableness of the Company’s reserve rates within its estimation of the inventory excess and obsolescence reserve.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 51
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the reserve rates applied to the inventory aging categories to estimate the Company’s excess and obsolescence reserve included the following procedures, among others:
-
We tested the effectiveness of controls over the review of the calculation of excess and obsolescence reserve based on the Company’s reserve methodology, including management’s evaluation of the reserve rates by inventory aging category using historical data.
-
To understand and evaluate the Company’s methodology for determining inventory that is excess or obsolete and the key assumptions and judgments made as part of the process, including the reserve rates, we made inquiries of various personnel in the Company including but not limited to finance and operations personnel about the expected product lifecycles and product development plans.
-
We assessed management’s estimate on reserve rates by recalculating historical reserve rates across multiple fiscal periods. We compared our independently developed historical reserve rates with the reserve rates used by management to evaluate management’s ability to accurately estimate excess and obsolete inventory.
-
We tested the accuracy and completeness of the underlying data utilized in management’s excess and obsolescence reserve, including the classification of inventory by aging category.
-
We considered the existence of contradictory evidence based on reading of internal communications to management, Company press releases, and industry reports, as well as our observations and inquires as to changes within the business.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
San Jose, California
August 25, 2023
We have served as the Company's auditor since fiscal 2003.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 52
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except par value per share amounts)
| June 30, | June 30, |
Showing the first 8K of 201K characters. Open the full section
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision, and with the participation, of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), we evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of June 30, 2023. Based on this evaluation, our CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level as of June 30, 2023.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f).
Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our CEO and CFO to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Management’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets, (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are appropriately recorded to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP and that our receipts and expenditures are made only in accordance with authorizations of management, acting under authority delegated to them by the Board, and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our financial statements.
Management, including our CEO and CFO, assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2023. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in its Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) (the “COSO Framework”). Based on this assessment, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of June 30, 2023, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2023, has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, and their opinion is stated in their report which is included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the three months ended June 30, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 99
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Super Micro Computer, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Super Micro Computer, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of June 30, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2023, of the Company and our report dated August 25, 2023, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
San Jose, California
August 25, 2023
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 100
Item 9B. Other Information
Disclosure Pursuant to Section 13(r) of the Exchange Act
Pursuant to Section 219 of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, which amended the Exchange Act to add Section 13(r) thereof, an issuer is required to disclose in its annual or quarterly reports, as applicable, whether, during the relevant reporting period, it or any entity acting on its behalf knowingly engaged in certain activities, transactions or dealings relating to parties sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13382 or other specified authorities. Such sanctions are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury, even if those transactions are authorized by law.
On March 2, 2021, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, the Russian Federal Security Service (the “FSB”) was designated by the U.S. government as a blocked party. Notwithstanding such designation, OFAC has issued General License No. 1B, authorizing certain transactions involving the FSB, including all transactions ordinarily incident and necessary to requesting, receiving, utilizing, paying for, or dealing in licenses, permits, certifications, or notifications issued or registered by the FSB for the importation, distribution, or use of information technology products in the Russian Federation, subject to certain limitations. Section 13(r) of the Exchange Act requires disclosure of dealings with FSB, even where the activities were conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and where such activities, transactions, or dealings did not have a material financial or other impact on the issuer.
As previously disclosed in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2023, we had previously, before the designation of the FSB in Executive Order 13382, authorized certain third parties to periodically file notifications with, or apply for import licenses and permits from, the FSB on our behalf in connection with the importation of our products into Russia, as permitted under OFAC authorizations. During various periods during fiscal year 2023, third parties filed notifications with, applied for import licenses and permits from, and/or received the associated approvals from the FSB on our behalf. However, no sales of any products actually occurred in the Russian Federation during fiscal year 2023, and accordingly, these filing activities did not result in any revenue or otherwise contribute to our net income during fiscal year 2023. We believe we have terminated all these authorizations. The Company and its subsidiaries do not sell products or provide services to the FSB. The Company and its subsidiaries had last recorded revenue from Russia on February 23, 2022.
Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
At our Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on May 19, 2023, a non-binding, advisory vote was taken on the frequency of future advisory votes regarding the compensation of our named executive officers. As previously reported in the Current Report on Form 8-K we filed with the SEC on May 23, 2023, among the options presented to stockholders (every one year, every two years, or every three years), the greatest number of votes were cast in favor of holding such an advisory vote every one year, which was also the frequency recommended to the stockholders by our Board of Directors. In light of these results and consistent with the previous recommendation and determination of our Board of Directors, we intend to continue to hold a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation every one year until the next required vote on the frequency of stockholder votes on executive compensation.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
None.
PART III
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 101
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance
Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth information regarding our current directors and executive officers and their ages as of July 31, 2023:
| Name | Age | Position(s) | ||||||||||||
| Charles Liang | 65 | President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board | ||||||||||||
| David Weigand | 65 | Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer | ||||||||||||
| Don Clegg | 64 | Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales | ||||||||||||
| George Kao | 62 | Senior Vice President of Operations | ||||||||||||
| Sara Liu | 61 | Co-Founder, Senior Vice President and Director | ||||||||||||
| Daniel Fairfax (1)(3)(4) | 67 | Director | ||||||||||||
| Judy Lin (2)(4) | 70 | Director | ||||||||||||
| Robert Blair | 75 | Director | ||||||||||||
| Sherman Tuan (2)(3)(4) | 69 | Director | ||||||||||||
| Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan (1)(2)(4) | 75 | Director | ||||||||||||
| Tally Liu (1)(3)(4) | 73 | Director |
(1)Member of the Audit Committee
(2)Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (the “Governance Committee”)
(3)Member of the Compensation Committee
(4)Determined by the Board of Directors to be “independent”
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 102
The following Board Diversity Matrix is provided pursuant to Nasdaq Rule 5606. Each of the categories listed in the below table has the meaning as it is used in Nasdaq Rule 5605(f).
| Board Diversity Matrix (As of July 31, 2023) | ||||||||||||||
| Total Number of Directors | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Female | Male | Non-Binary | Did Not Disclose Gender | |||||||||||
| Part I: Gender Identity | ||||||||||||||
| Directors | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Part II: Demographic Background | ||||||||||||||
| African American or Black | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Alaskan Native or Native American | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Asian | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Hispanic or Latinx | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| White | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Two or More Races or Ethnicities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| LGBTQ+ | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Did Not Disclose Demographic Background | 0 |
Executive Officers and Management Directors
Charles Liang founded Super Micro and has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since our inception in September 1993. Mr. Liang has been developing server and storage system architectures and technologies for the past three decades. From July 1991 to August 1993, Mr. Liang was President and Chief Design Engineer of Micro Center Computer Inc., a high-end motherboard design and manufacturing company. From January 1988 to April 1991, Mr. Liang was Senior Design Engineer and Project Leader for Chips & Technologies, Inc., a chipset technology company, and Suntek Information International Group, a system and software development company. Mr. Liang has been granted 23 U.S. server technology patents. Mr. Liang holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University of Science & Technology in Taiwan. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Liang should serve on the Board based on his skills, experience and qualifications in managing technology businesses, his technical expertise, and his long familiarity with our company’s business.
David Weigand has served as our Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer since February 2021 and as Chief Compliance Officer since May 2018. Prior to his employment with our company, Mr. Weigand was a Vice President at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) from November 2016 until April 2018 and served as Vice President, Tax at Silicon Graphics International, Inc., from September 2013 until its acquisition by HPE in November 2016. Prior to that he was Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of Renesas Electronics America, a semiconductor company formed by the merger of the semiconductor businesses of NEC Corporation, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric from October 2010 until April 2013, and Vice President, Controller of NEC Electronics America from October 2004 until September 2010. Mr. Weigand holds a M.S. degree in Taxation from the University of Hartford and a B.S. degree in Accounting from San Jose State University and is a Certified Public Accountant in California (Inactive).
Don Clegg serves as our Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales. He previously served as our Vice President of Marketing and Worldwide Business Development. Mr. Clegg has been an employee since April 2006 and has held various senior sales and marketing roles with the Company during that time. Mr. Clegg started his career as a Design Engineer and evolved from Engineer to Vice President of Sales and Marketing working at several established and startup Silicon Valley system and semiconductor companies. Mr. Clegg graduated with high honors from Brigham Young University, where he earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 103
George Kao serves as our Senior Vice President of Operations and previously served as our Vice President of Operations. Mr. Kao joined the Company in October 2016. Mr. Kao was Vice President of Operations of Pericom Semiconductor Corp. from October 2006 to September 2016. Mr. Kao served as a Chief Operating Officer of Orient Semiconductor Electronics Philippines, Inc., a subsidiary of Orient Semiconductor Electronics Ltd., from July 2003 to March 2006. Mr. Kao joined Orient Semiconductor Electronics Philippines, Inc. from Santa Clara-based Foveon after a 20-year career in technology in the United States that began at National Semiconductor. Mr. Kao holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo.
Sara Liu co-founded Super Micro in September 1993, has been a member of our Board since our inception in September 1993 and currently serves as our Co-Founder, Senior Vice President, and a director. She has held a variety of positions with the Company, including Treasurer from inception to May 2019, Senior Vice President of Operations from May 2014 to February 2018, and Chief Administrative Officer from October 1993 to May 2019. From 1985 to 1993, Ms. Liu held accounting and operational positions for several companies, including Micro Center Computer Inc. Ms. Liu holds a B.S. in Accounting from Providence University in Taiwan. Ms. Liu is married to Mr. Charles Liang, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Our Governance Committee concluded that Ms. Liu should serve on the Board based on her skills, experience, her general expertise in business and operations and her long familiarity with our company’s business.
Non-Management Directors
Daniel Fairfax has been a member of our Board since July 2019. Mr. Fairfax served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Brocade Communications, a networking equipment company (“Brocade”) from June 2011 to November 2017. Brocade was acquired by Broadcom in November 2017. Mr. Fairfax previously served as Brocade’s Vice President of Global Services from August 2009 to June 2011 and Brocade’s Vice President of Business Operations from January 2009 to August 2009. Prior to Brocade, Mr. Fairfax served as Chief Financial Officer of Foundry Networks, Inc., from January 2007 until December 2008. Foundry Networks was acquired by Brocade in December 2008. Earlier in his career Mr. Fairfax served in executive financial management and/or general management positions at GoRemote Internet Communications, Ironside Technologies, Acta Technology, NeoVista Software, Siemens and Spectra-Physics. He began his career as a consultant with the National Telecommunications Practice Group of Ernst & Young. Mr. Fairfax is a certified public accountant with an inactive license in California and holds an MBA degree from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in Economics, from Whitman College. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Fairfax should serve on the Board based on his skills, experience, his financial literacy and his familiarity with technology businesses.
Robert Blair has been a member of our Board since December 2022. Mr. Blair was President and Chief Executive Officer of ESS Technology, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company for 19 years from September 1999 through July 2018 where he also served as a director from September 1999 through August 2019. During this time, ESS Technology, Inc. was a publicly listed company on NASDAQ for 9 years. Mr. Blair has been a director of Pictos, Inc., a technology licensing company that owns a portfolio of fundamental CMOS imaging patents, since July 2008 where he also previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer between 2008 and 2013. His professional background also includes more than 35 years of experience in marketing, sales, engineering, operations, and general management, principally in the computer hardware, software, and semiconductor industries. His experience includes roles at Global Semiconductor Alliance, Logistix Corporation, and XEGMAG (a division of Xidex Corporation). Mr. Blair holds twelve issued U.S. patents plus additional patents worldwide, and studied electrical engineering at Arizona State University and applied economics at the University of San Francisco. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Blair should serve on the Board based on his familiarity with technology businesses, skills and experience with business operations at technology companies, and public company experience.
Judy Lin has been a member of our Board since April 2022. Ms. Lin is a retired executive who has 30 years of experience in the disk drive industry. She served as an Independent Board Director of MORESCO Corporation, a leading manufacturer of specialty chemicals based in Japan, from June 2014 to May 2022. Ms. Lin served as Vice President of Western Digital Media Operations, a leader in data infrastructure, from September 2007 until her retirement in September 2012. Prior to Western Digital, Ms. Lin served as Vice President at Komag Inc., a leading supplier of thin-film disks to the hard disk drive industry and held various management positions from April 1994 until Western Digital acquired Komag in September 2007. Before joining Komag, Ms. Lin was with IBM Almaden Research Center Storage Systems Division for 11 years as a Senior Scientist from January 1983 to April 1994. Ms. Lin holds a MSc degree in Materials Science and Mineral Engineering from University of California, Berkeley where she was also a PhD candidate, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Our Governance Committee concluded that Ms. Lin should serve on the Board based on her substantial leadership and management experience and, considering she is well versed in technology innovation, product development, engineering and global operations, she will add valuable perspective to the Board.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 104
Sherman Tuan has been a member of our Board since February 2007. Mr. Tuan is founder of PurpleComm, Inc. (doing business as 9x9.tv), a platform for connected TV, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer since January 2005 and Chairman of the Board since June 2003. From September 1999 to May 2002, he was director of Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., a fiber optical networking infrastructure provider. Mr. Tuan was co-founder of AboveNet Communications, Inc., an internet connectivity solutions provider, where he served as President from March 1996 to January 1998, Chief Executive Officer from March 1996 to May 2002 and director from March 1996 to September 1999. Mr. Tuan holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Feng-Chia University in Taiwan. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Tuan should serve on the Board based on his skills, experience and qualifications in managing technology businesses, his technical expertise, and his familiarity with our company’s business.
Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan has been a member of our Board since October 2020. Mr. Chan is the founder and currently the president of KCR Development, Inc. which has developed real estate projects in excess of $1 billion in California and Hawaii specializing in high-density residential and retail projects. Mr. Chan also has more than three decades of experience in the high technology sector and as an entrepreneur. He most recently served as chairman of ESS Technology, Inc., a privately held semiconductor company which he had founded, from 2015 to 2019. ESS Technology was previously a public company listed on Nasdaq from 1995 until 2008, where he had held a variety of senior executive roles, including as chairman, president and chief executive officer, and served as a director. Mr. Chan has also previously served as chairman of a privately-held consumer electronic company, founder and an executive officer of a VLSI chip design center providing computer aided design, engineering and other design services, and co-founder and an executive officer of a company in the business of computer aided engineering systems development. Mr. Chan holds B.S.E.E. and M.S.C. degrees from the University of Hawaii. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Chan should serve on the Board based on his skills and experience in growing companies and familiarity with technology businesses.
Tally Liu was appointed to our Board and our Audit Committee in January 2019 and was appointed as the chair of the Audit Committee in June 2019. Mr. Liu has been retired since 2015. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Liu was Chief Executive Officer of Wintec Industries, a supply chain solutions company for high-tech manufacturers, from 2012 to 2015. Prior to Wintec, Mr. Liu served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Newegg, Inc., an internet consumer technology retailer, from 2008 to 2010, and as President of Newegg in 2008. Prior to Newegg, Mr. Liu held various positions with Knight Ridder Inc., including Vice President, Finance & Advanced Technology and Vice President of Internal Audit. Mr. Liu served as President of the International Newspapers Financial Executives (INFE) for one year before it merged with other media associations. A Certified Public Accountant from 1982-2007, Mr. Liu is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) with retired status and was previously a member of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA). Mr. Liu is also a Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), with non-practice status, with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and has also been certified in Control Self-assessment (CCSA) by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). After earning his BA of Commerce from National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, and MBA from Florida Atlantic University, Mr. Liu received executive leadership training at the Stanford Advanced Finance Program in 1986 and at Harvard Business School in the Advanced Management Program (AMP) in 1998. Mr. Liu is not related to any member of our Board or any of our officers. Our Governance Committee concluded that Mr. Liu should serve on the Board based on his skills, experience, his financial literacy and his familiarity with technology businesses.
Except for Mr. Charles Liang and Ms. Sara Liu who are married to each other, there are no other family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.
Composition of the Board
Our authorized number of directors is currently eight. There are currently eight directors. Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides for a classified Board of Directors divided into three classes. The members of each class are elected to serve a three-year term with the term of office for each class ending in consecutive years. Vacancies may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Alternatively, the Board of Directors, at its option, may reduce the number of directors, provided that no decrease in the number of directors constituting the Board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director. Directors chosen to fill newly created directorships hold office for a term expiring at the next annual meeting of stockholders to which the term of the office of the class to which they have been elected expires.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 105
The current composition of the Board of Directors is:
| Class I Directors (1) | Charles Liang Sherman Tuan Tally Liu | ||||
| Class II Directors (2) | Robert Blair Sara Liu Judy Lin | ||||
| Class III Directors (3) | Daniel W. Fairfax Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan |
(1)The term of Class I directors expires at the annual meeting of stockholders following fiscal year 2025.
(2)The term of the Class II director expires at the annual meeting of stockholders following fiscal year 2023.
(3)The term of Class III directors expires at the annual meeting of stockholders following fiscal year 2024.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Corporate Governance Guidelines
We have adopted “Corporate Governance Guidelines” to help ensure that the Board is independent from management, that it appropriately performs its function as the overseer of management, and that the interests of the Board of Directors and management align with the interests of our stockholders. The “Corporate Governance Guidelines” are available at https://ir.supermicro.com/governance/governance-documents/default.aspx.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” that is applicable to all directors, executive officers and employees and embodies our principles and practices relating to the ethical conduct of our business and our long-standing commitment to honesty, fair dealing and full compliance with all laws affecting our business. Our “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” is available at https://ir.supermicro.com/governance/governance-documents/default.aspx. Any substantive amendment or waiver of the Code relating to executive officers or directors will be made only after approval by our Board of Directors and will be promptly disclosed on our website within four business days.
Director Independence
The listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market generally require that a majority of the members of a listed company’s board of directors be independent. In addition, the listing rules generally require that, subject to specified exceptions, each member of a listed company’s audit committee, compensation committee, and nominating and corporate governance committee be independent. Audit committee members must also satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market. In addition, compensation committee members must satisfy the independence criteria set forth in Rule 10C-1 under the Exchange Act and the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Each year, the Board affirmatively assesses the independence of each director and nominee for election as a director in accordance with the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Based on these standards, our Board has determined that six of its current eight members, Daniel Fairfax, Judy Lin, Robert Blair, Sherman Tuan, Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan and Tally Liu, are “independent directors” under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing requirements and rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
Executive Sessions
Non-management directors meet in executive session without management present each time the Board holds its regularly scheduled meetings.
Communications with the Board of Directors
The Board welcomes the submission of any comments or concerns from stockholders or other interested parties. If you wish to send any communications to the Board, you may use one of the following methods:
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 106
- Write to the Board at the following address:
Board of Directors
Super Micro Computer, Inc.
c/o General Counsel
980 Rock Avenue
San Jose, California 95131
- E-mail the Board of Directors at BODInquiries@supermicro.com
Communications that are intended specifically for the independent directors or non-management directors should be sent to the e-mail address or street address noted above, to the attention of the “Independent Directors”.
MEETINGS AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
Board Meetings
Each director is expected to devote sufficient time, energy and attention to ensure diligent performance of his or her duties and to attend all Board and committee meetings. We encourage, but do not require, each Board member to attend our annual meeting of stockholders. We held an annual meeting of stockholders on May 19, 2023, for our fiscal year 2022. The Board held nine meetings during fiscal year 2023, four of which were regularly scheduled meetings and five of which were special meetings. All directors attended at least 75% of the meetings of the Board and the committees on which they served during the time they were members of the Board or such committees during fiscal year 2023.
Board Leadership Structure
Our Chairman, Charles Liang, is also our Chief Executive Officer. The Board and our Governance Committee believe that it is appropriate for Mr. Liang to serve as both the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman due to the relatively small size of our Board, and the fact that Mr. Liang is the founder of our company with extensive experience in our industry. We do not currently have a lead independent director.
Board Role in the Oversight of Risk
The Board oversees our risk management activities, requesting and receiving reports from management. The Board conducts this oversight directly and through its committees. The Board has delegated primary responsibility for oversight of risks relating to financial controls and reporting to our Audit Committee. The Audit Committee also assists the Board in oversight of certain other risks, including internal controls and review of related party transactions. The Audit Committee reports to the full Board on such matters as appropriate.
Our management, with oversight from our Compensation Committee, has reviewed our compensation policies and practices with respect to risk-taking incentives and risk management and does not believe that potential risks arising from our compensation polices or practices are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our company.
Committees of the Board of Directors
The Board has three standing committees to facilitate and assist the Board in discharging its responsibilities: the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Governance Committee. In accordance with applicable listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market, each of these committees is comprised solely of non-employee, independent directors. The charter for each committee is available at https://ir.supermicro.com/governance/governance-documents/default.aspx. In October 2022, each of the three standing committees conducted their periodic review of their charters, and, in April 2023, the Governance Committee conducted a further review of its charter and amended it in connection with such review. A description of the charters is set forth below. The charter of each committee also is available in print to any stockholder who requests it. The following table sets forth the current members of each of the standing Board committees.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 107
| Audit Committee | Compensation Committee | Governance Committee | ||||||||||||
| Tally Liu (1) | Sherman Tuan (1) | Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan (1) | ||||||||||||
| Daniel Fairfax | Daniel Fairfax | Sherman Tuan | ||||||||||||
| Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan | Tally Liu | Judy Lin |
(1)Committee Chairperson
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has three members currently. The Audit Committee met ten times in fiscal year 2023, four of which were regularly scheduled meetings and six of which were special meetings. The Board has determined that each member of our Audit Committee meets the requirements for independence under the applicable listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market (including Rule 5605(c)(2)(A)) and the rules of the SEC (including Rule 10A-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act). The Board has also determined that our Audit Committee has the required number of “audit committee financial experts” as defined in Item 407 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC.
As outlined more specifically in the Audit Committee charter, the Audit Committee has, among other duties, the following responsibilities:
-
Appoints, retains and approves the compensation of our independent auditors, and reviews and evaluates the auditors’ qualifications, independence and performance;
-
Oversees the independent auditors’ audit work and reviews and pre-approves all audit and non-audit services that may be performed by them;
-
Reviews and discusses with the independent auditors any audit problems, or difficulties and management’s response to them, and all matters that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the SEC require to be discussed with the committee;
-
Reviews and discusses with management press releases regarding our financial results, as well as financial information and earnings guidance provided to securities analysts and rating agencies;
-
Reviews and approves the planned scope of our annual audit;
-
Monitors the rotation of partners of the independent auditors on their engagement team as required by law;
-
Reviews our financial statements and discusses with management and the independent auditors the results of the annual audit and the review of our quarterly financial statements;
-
Reviews our critical accounting policies and estimates;
-
Oversees the adequacy of our financial controls;
-
Periodically reviews and discusses with management and the independent auditors our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal control over financial reporting;
-
Reviews, discusses and approves the internal audit function’s (i) internal audit plan, (ii) all major changes to the internal audit plan, (iii) the scope, progress and results of executing the internal audit plan, and (iv) the annual performance of the internal audit function;
-
Reviews, approves and oversees all related party transactions;
-
Establishes and oversees procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints regarding accounting, internal controls or auditing matters and oversees enforcement, compliance and remedial measures under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics;
-
Initiates investigations and hires legal, accounting and other outside advisors or experts to assist the Audit Committee, as it deems necessary to fulfill its duties;
-
Periodically reviews and discusses with management our major financial risk exposures and steps management has taken to monitor and control the exposures, including our risk assessment and risk management guidelines and policies; and
-
Reviews and evaluates, at least annually, the adequacy of the Audit Committee charter and recommends any proposed changes to the Board for approval.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 108
Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee has three members currently. The Compensation Committee charter provides that the Compensation Committee shall be comprised of no fewer than two members. The Compensation Committee met eleven times in fiscal year 2023, four of which were regularly scheduled meetings and seven of which were special meetings. The Compensation Committee is comprised solely of non-employee directors. The Board has determined that each member of our Compensation Committee meets the requirements for independence under the applicable listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
As outlined more specifically in the Compensation Committee charter, the Compensation Committee has, among other duties, the following responsibilities:
-
Periodically reviews and advises the Board concerning our overall compensation philosophy, policies and plans, including a review and approval of a group of companies for general executive compensation competitive comparisons, approval of target pay and performance objectives against this group (and broader industry reference), and monitoring of our executive compensation levels and their performance relative to this group;
-
Reviews and approves corporate goals and objectives relevant to compensation of the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers;
-
Evaluates the performance of the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers in light of those goals and objectives, including generally against the overall performance of executive officers at comparable companies, all while taking into account our risk management policies and practices, and any other factors the Compensation Committee deems appropriate;
-
Reviews and approves the compensation of the Chief Executive Officer and other executive officers and other key employees;
-
Reviews and approves our incentive compensation plans and equity compensation plans;
-
Monitors and assesses risks associated with our compensation policies, including whether such policies could lead to unnecessary risk-taking behavior, and consults with management regarding such risks;
-
Administers the issuance of restricted stock grants, stock options and other equity awards to executive officers, directors and other eligible individuals under our equity compensation plans, provided that the Compensation Committee may delegate the approval of grants of options and other equity awards to participants other than certain individuals subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act as provided in the applicable plan; and
-
Reviews and evaluates, at least annually, the performance of the Compensation Committee, including compliance of the Compensation Committee with its charter and the adequacy of the Compensation Committee charter.
In general, the Compensation Committee discharges the Board’s responsibilities regarding the determination of executive compensation, and reviews and makes recommendations to the full Board in the determination of non-employee director compensation. The Compensation Committee also makes recommendations to the full Board regarding non-ordinary course executive compensation matters, including with respect to new or amended employment contracts, severance or change-in-control plans or arrangements, and may adopt, amend and terminate such agreements, arrangements or plans. The Compensation Committee may delegate its responsibilities, along with the authority to take action in relation to such responsibilities, to subcommittees comprised of one or more Compensation Committee members, subject to requirements of our bylaws and applicable laws, regulations and the terms of our executive compensation plans. Additional information about the Compensation Committee’s processes for determining executive and non-employee director compensation, including the role of the Compensation Committee’s compensation consultant and our executive officers, can be found in the “Executive Compensation” and “2023 Director Compensation” sections of this Annual Report.
Governance Committee
The Governance Committee has three members currently. The Governance Committee charter provides that the Governance Committee shall be comprised of no fewer than two members. The Governance Committee met six times in fiscal year 2023, four of which were regularly scheduled meetings and two of which were special meetings. The Governance Committee is comprised solely of non-employee directors. The Board has determined that each member of our Governance Committee meets the requirements for independence under the applicable listing requirements of The Nasdaq Stock Market.
As outlined more specifically in the Governance Committee charter, the Governance Committee has, among other duties, the following responsibilities:
-
Reviews and makes recommendations to the Board regarding the size of the Board;
-
Identifies individuals qualified to become directors;
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 109
-
Evaluates and selects, or recommends to the Board, director nominees for each election of directors;
-
Develops and recommends to the Board criteria any other factors that the Governance Committee deems relevant, including those that promote diversity, for selecting qualified director candidates in the context of the current make-up of the Board;
-
Considers any nominations of director candidates validly made by our stockholders;
-
Conducts an annual evaluation of director independence that considers applicable Nasdaq rules, applicable law and our Corporate Governance Guidelines to enable the Board to make a determination of each director’s independence;
-
Reviews committee structures and compositions and recommends to the Board concerning qualifications, appointment and removal of committee members;
-
Develops, recommends for approval by the Board and reviews on an ongoing basis the adequacy of the corporate governance principles applicable to us;
-
Reviews, on a periodic basis, the adequacy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and recommends any proposed changes to the Board;
-
Oversees compliance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines and reports on such compliance to the Board;
-
Assists the Board in the evaluation of the Board and each committee;
-
Periodically reviews succession planning for executive officers;
-
Periodically assesses, reports, and provides guidance to management and the full Board on our practices with respect to environmental, social and corporate governance issues, including monitoring climate-related issues, as well as review of any environmental sustainability performance report;
-
Provides guidance and recommendations to the Board regarding legal compliance matters as appropriate relating to current environmental public policy trends; and
-
Periodically reviews the scope of responsibilities of the Governance Committee and the committee's performance of its duties.
The Governance Committee may delegate its responsibilities, along with the authority to take action in relation to such responsibilities, to subcommittees comprised of one or more Governance Committee members, subject to requirements of our bylaws, applicable laws and regulations.
In accordance with our bylaws, our Board establishes additional committees for specific delegated purposes, roles and responsibilities that are temporary in nature.
Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors, executive officers, and holders of more than 10% of our common stock to file reports regarding their ownership and changes in ownership of our securities with the SEC, and to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) reports that they file.
Based solely upon a review of Forms 3 and 4 and amendments thereto furnished to us and certain written representations provided to us, we believe that during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, our directors, executive officers, and greater than 10% stockholders complied with all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 110
Item 11. Executive Compensation
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”)
In this section we provide an explanation and analysis of the material elements of the compensation provided to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and both of our other two executive officers who were serving on June 30, 2023, which was the end of our fiscal year 2023 (collectively referred to as our “named executive officers” or “NEOs”).
Our named executive officers and their positions at the end of fiscal year 2023 were:
| Charles Liang | President, Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chairman of the Board | ||||
| David Weigand | Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer | ||||
| Don Clegg | Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales | ||||
| George Kao | Senior Vice President, Operations |
Overview of Compensation

**(1)**The chart presents the percentage compensation by compensation component received by the three non-CEO named executive officers together (aggregate compensation) as a group, as well as the split between cash and equity compensation for all such persons received in the aggregate as a group. No equivalent chart is presented for CEO compensation because, through all of fiscal year 2023, and continuing for about the next three years, almost all of Mr. Liang’s compensation has been, and is expected to be, based only upon his ability to earn the 2021 CEO Performance Award, as further described below.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 111
Compensation Philosophy and Objectives—Continuing Improvement of Performance-Based Compensation Arrangements
Our executive compensation philosophy is to link compensation to corporate performance. Efforts in fiscal year 2021 were primarily focused on our CEO (Mr. Charles Liang), but, in fiscal year 2022, the Compensation Committee expanded the linkage of compensation to corporate performance to certain other named executive officers. During fiscal year 2023, the Compensation Committee continued to refine the link between compensation and corporate performance for these other two named executive officers. While the Compensation Committee continued to use a similar balance between fixed and regular compensation components (like base salary and regularly refreshed equity grants with time-based vesting) and performance-based equity awards (like performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) and stock options) from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023, the Compensation Committee for fiscal year 2023 carefully re-evaluated the specified objective metrics (“key performance indicators” or “KPIs”) used under the performance-based portion of such programs, as well as the fixed bonus component of such programs. These efforts culminated in the adoption of a new fiscal year 2023 compensation program for each of Messrs. Weigand and Clegg in January 2023 (the “FY2023 Performance Program for Other Named Executive Officers”). Under such programs, the Compensation Committee determined to use the same KPIs and fixed bonus component as fiscal year 2022 for Mr. Weigand’s program, but determined to use an updated and different mix of KPIs and an adjusted fixed bonus component for Mr. Clegg for fiscal year 2023 compared to his program for fiscal year 2022. See “FY2023 Performance Program for Other Named Executive Officers” below for more specific information about the design and operation of the compensation program for Messrs. Weigand and Clegg for fiscal year 2023.
With respect to our CEO, Mr. Liang, fiscal year 2023 was the second year of evaluating and monitoring the results of performance-based compensation arrangements made with Mr. Liang in fiscal year 2021. In March 2021, we changed Mr. Liang’s compensation to be almost completely performance-based. As discussed in more detail below, in March 2021, we converted nearly 100% of Mr. Liang’s compensation to performance-based compensation through the issuance of performance-based options (the “2021 CEO Performance Award”) to purchase 1,000,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $45.00 per share, which price was 32% higher than the market price of our common stock on the date of the award ($34.08). The 2021 CEO Performance Award is comprised of five tranches that vest only if the market price of our common stock reaches various prices (ranging from $45.00 to $120.00 per share) and we achieve certain specified revenue goals, all as described in greater detail below. In connection with the 2021 CEO Performance Award, Mr. Liang’s base salary was reduced to $1.00 per year and Mr. Liang agreed that he would not be eligible for any increase in base salary, or any other cash compensation, until June 30, 2026.
Similar to fiscal year 2022, Mr. Liang’s compensation for fiscal year 2023 was based entirely upon the 2021 CEO Performance Award and related agreements. During fiscal year 2022, one of the five tranches under the 2021 CEO Performance Award (representing 200,000 options granted under such award) was earned, and during fiscal year 2023 an additional three tranches under the 2021 CEO Performance Award (representing an additional 600,000 options granted under such award) were earned. This is because, during fiscal year 2023, each of the second, third, and fourth revenue goals of $4.8 billion, $5.8 billion, and $6.8 billion, respectively, in annualized revenue were achieved and the second, third, and fourth stock price goals of $60.00, $75.00, and $95.00, respectively, were achieved. In addition, during fiscal year 2023 and through the date of this report, the Compensation Committee also certified the achievement of the fifth and final stock price goal of $120.00. As a result, as of the date of this report, only 200,000 of the original 1,000,000 options granted under the 2021 CEO Performance Award remain unearned, and the only remaining goal under the 2021 CEO Performance Award is the fifth revenue goal of $8.0 billion in annualized revenue. Mr. Liang received a base salary of $1 during fiscal year 2023.
In summary, through all of fiscal year 2023 (and similar to the latter part of fiscal year 2021 and all of fiscal year 2022), almost all of Mr. Liang’s compensation has been based only upon us achieving the revenue goals described below and the common stock price targets described below. Unless all the goals under the 2021 CEO Performance Award are achieved and all such options awarded thereunder are fully earned prior to such time, Mr. Liang’s compensation is expected to be similarly based upon awards he earns under the 2021 CEO Performance Award for about the next three years. To fully achieve those goals, our revenue must continue to increase to $8 billion over a rolling four-quarter period (from $3.6 billion for the last full fiscal year before the award). The 60-trading-day average stock price of our common stock has already reached the final goal of $120.00 per share (from $34.08 on the day the award was provided). As a result, as of the date of this report, the 2021 CEO Performance Award has been earned and is exercisable at a per share price of $45 with respect to 800,000 shares.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 112
Fiscal Year 2023 Business Performance Highlights
The following are highlights of our performance for fiscal year 2023. When given, comparisons are between fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2022 results.
-
Revenue was $7,123.5 million, up 37.1%;
-
Gross margin was 18.0%, an improvement from 15.4%;
-
Net income was $640.0 million, an improvement of 124.4%;
-
Diluted net income per common share was $11.43 million, up 114.8%;
-
The sixty-trading-day average stock price of our shares exceeded $120.00, reaching $120.87 during the period from March 6, 2023 through May 30, 2023;
-
During fiscal year 2023
Showing the first 8K of 131K characters. Open the full section
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Procedures for Approval of Related Person Transactions
Pursuant to our Audit Committee charter, the Audit Committee has the responsibility for the review and approval of any related person transactions; provided that if the matter or transaction involves employment or compensation terms for services to our company, including retention or payment provisions relating to expert services, then it is presented to the Compensation Committee. In approving or rejecting a proposed transaction, or a relationship that encompasses many similar transactions, our Audit Committee will consider the relevant facts and circumstances available and deemed relevant, including but not limited to the risks, costs and benefits to us, the terms of the transaction, the availability of other sources for comparable services or products, and, if applicable, the impact on a director’s independence. Our Audit Committee approves only those transactions that, in light of known circumstances are not inconsistent with our best interests, as the Audit Committee determines in the good faith exercise of its discretion. In addition, we annually require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions as such term is defined by SEC rules and regulations. These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 137
Transactions with Related Parties, Promoters and Certain Control Persons
Director and Officer Indemnification
We have entered into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law. In addition, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions limiting the liability of our directors and our bylaws contain provisions requiring us to indemnify our officers and directors.
Equity-Based Awards
Please see the “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table and the “Director Compensation” table above for information on stock option and restricted stock unit grants to our directors and named executive officers in fiscal year 2023.
Employment Relationships
As of June 30, 2023, Hung-Fan (Albert) Liu, who is a brother of Sara Liu, our Co-Founder and Senior Vice President and a director, is employed in our operations organization in San Jose, California. Mr. Liu received total compensation of $557,452 in fiscal year 2023. The total compensation includes salary, bonus and equity awards.
As of June 30, 2023, Shao Fen (Carly) Kao, who is a sister-in-law of Sara Liu, our Co-Founder and Senior Vice President and a director, is employed in our information systems organization in San Jose, California. Ms. Kao received total compensation of $321,944 in fiscal year 2023. The total compensation includes salary, bonus and equity awards.
As of June 30, 2023, Mien-Hsia (Michelle) Hung, who is a sister-in-law of Sara Liu, our Co-Founder and Senior Vice President and a director, is employed in our marketing organization in Taiwan. Ms. Hung received total compensation of $139,953 in fiscal year 2023. The total compensation includes salary, bonus and equity awards.
As of June 30, 2023, Sara Liu, who is Charles Liang's spouse and is related to Mr. Liu, Ms. Kao and Ms. Hung as outlined above, is a Co-Founder, Senior Vice President, and director of the Company, and received total compensation of $9,353,127 in fiscal year 2023. The total compensation includes equity gain of $8,811,517 (principally from the exercise of stock options), in addition to salary and bonus.
Transactions with Ablecom and Compuware
We have entered into a series of agreements with Ablecom Technology Inc. ("Ablecom"), a Taiwan corporation, and one of its affiliates, Compuware Technology, Inc ("Compuware"). Ablecom’s ownership of Compuware is below 50% but Compuware remains a related party as Ablecom still has significant influence over the operations. Ablecom’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Liang, is the brother of Charles Liang, our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. Steve Liang and his family members owned approximately 28.8% of Ablecom’s stock and Charles Liang and his spouse, Sara Liu, who is also an officer and director of our company, collectively owned approximately 10.5% of Ablecom’s capital stock as of June 30, 2023. Bill Liang, a brother of both Charles Liang and Steve Liang, is a member of the Board of Directors of Ablecom. Bill Liang is also the Chief Executive Officer of Compuware, a member of Compuware’s Board of Directors and a holder of a significant equity interest in Compuware. Steve Liang is also a member of Compuware’s Board of Directors and is an equity holder of Compuware. Neither Charles Liang nor Sara Liu own any capital stock of Compuware and the Company does not own any of Ablecom or Compuware's capital stock.
We have entered into a series of agreements with Ablecom, including multiple product development, production and service agreements, product manufacturing agreements, manufacturing services agreements and lease agreements for warehouse space.
Under these agreements, we outsource a portion of our design activities and a significant part of our server chassis manufacturing of components such as server chassis to Ablecom. Ablecom agrees to design products according to our specifications. Additionally, Ablecom agrees to build the tools needed to manufacture the products. We have agreed to pay for the cost of chassis and related product tooling and engineering services and will pay for those items when the work has been completed.
We entered into a distribution agreement with Compuware, under which we appointed Compuware as a non-exclusive distributor of our products in Taiwan, China and Australia. We believe that the pricing and terms under the distribution agreement are similar to the pricing and terms of distribution arrangements we have with similar third-party distributors.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 138
We have also entered into a series of agreements with Compuware, including a multiple product development, production and service agreements, product manufacturing agreements, and lease agreements for office space. Under these agreements, we outsource to Compuware a portion of our design activities and a significant part of our manufacturing of components, particularly power supplies. With respect to design activities, Compuware generally agrees to design certain agreed-upon products according to our specifications, and further agrees to build the tools needed to manufacture the products. We pay Compuware for the design and engineering services, and further agree to pay Compuware for the tooling.
We retain full ownership of any intellectual property resulting from the design of these products and tooling. With respect to the manufacturing aspects of the relationship, Compuware purchases most of materials needed to manufacture the power supplies from outside markets and uses these materials to manufacture the products and then sell to us. We review and frequently negotiate with Compuware the prices of the power supplies that we purchase from Compuware. Compuware also manufactures motherboards, backplanes and other components used on our printed circuit boards. We sell to Compuware most of the components needed to manufacture the above products. Compuware uses these components to manufacture and then sells back the products to us at a purchase price equal to the price at which we sold the components to Compuware, plus a “manufacturing value added” fee and other miscellaneous material charges and costs. We frequently review and negotiate with Compuware the amount of the “manufacturing value added” fee that will be included in the price of the products we purchase from Compuware.
Ablecom’s sales to us comprise a substantial majority of Ablecom’s net sales. For fiscal years ended June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we purchased products from Ablecom totaling $167.8 million, $192.4 million and $122.2 million, respectively. Amounts owed to Ablecom by us as of June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, were $36.9 million, $46.0 million and $41.2 million, respectively. For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we paid Ablecom $12.1 million, $8.3 million and $8.6 million, respectively, for design services, tooling assets and miscellaneous costs.
Compuware’s sales of our products to others comprise a majority of Compuware’s net sales. For fiscal years ended June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we sold products to Compuware totaling $36.3 million, $26.1 million and $27.9 million, respectively. Amounts owed to us by Compuware as of June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, were $24.9 million, $19.6 million and $18.2 million, respectively. The price at which Compuware purchases the products from us is at a discount from our standard price for purchasers who purchase specified volumes from us. In exchange for this discount, Compuware assumes the responsibility to install our products at the site of the end customer and administers first-level customer support. For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we purchased products from Compuware totaling $217.0 million, $170.3 million and $113.4 million, respectively. Amounts we owed to Compuware as of June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021 were $66.2 million, $60.0 million and $46.4 million, respectively. For the fiscal years ended June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we paid Compuware $2.0 million, $1.5 million and $1.8 million, respectively, for design services, tooling assets and miscellaneous costs.
Our exposure to financial loss as a result of our involvement with Ablecom is limited to potential losses on our purchase orders in the event of an unforeseen decline in the market price and/or demand for our products such that we incur a loss on the sale or cannot sell the products. Our outstanding purchase orders to Ablecom were $23.7 million, $36.0 million and $40.2 million at June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, representing the maximum exposure to financial loss. We do not directly or indirectly guarantee any obligations of Ablecom, or any losses that the equity holders of Ablecom may suffer.
Our exposure to financial loss as a result of our involvement with Compuware is limited to potential losses on our purchase orders in the event of an unforeseen decline in the market price and/or demand for our products such that we incur a loss on the sale or cannot sell the products. Our outstanding purchase orders to Compuware were $46.8 million, $44.3 million and $71.0 million at June 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, representing the maximum exposure to financial loss. We do not directly or indirectly guarantee any obligations of Compuware, or any losses that the equity holders of Compuware may suffer.
Super Micro Asia Science and Technology Park, Inc. We and Ablecom jointly established Super Micro Asia Science and Technology Park, Inc. (the "Management Company") in Taiwan to manage the common areas shared by us and Ablecom for its separately constructed manufacturing facilities. In fiscal year 2012, each party contributed $0.2 million for a 50% ownership interest of the Management Company. Certain affiliates of Ablecom serve as directors of the Management Company. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the Management Company.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 139
Tripartite Agreement. On November 8, 2021, Super Micro Computer Inc., Taiwan (the “Subsidiary”), a Taiwan corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Tripartite Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Ablecom and Compuware related to a three-way purchase of land. Ablecom has advised that its underlying agreements to acquire land from the third-party landowners in proximity to the Company’s campus in Bade, Taiwan have been terminated, and during the quarter ended December 31, 2022, the Agreement was terminated.
Loans
In October 2018, our Chief Executive Officer, Charles Liang, personally borrowed approximately $12.9 million from Chien-Tsun Chang, the spouse of Steve Liang. The loan is unsecured, has no maturity date and bore interest at 0.8% per month for the first six months, increased to 0.85% per month through February 28, 2020, and reduced to 0.25% effective March 1, 2020. The loan was originally made at Mr. Liang's request to provide funds to repay margin loans to two financial institutions, which loans had been secured by shares of our common stock that he held. The lenders called the loans in October 2018, following the suspension of our common stock from trading on NASDAQ in August 2018 and the decline in the market price of our common stock in October 2018. As of June 30, 2023, the amount due on the unsecured loan (including principal and accrued interest) was approximately $16.0 million.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 140
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The Audit Committee appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2023. As we previously disclosed in our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2023, Deloitte & Touche LLP has been dismissed effective upon completion of the audit of the financial statements for fiscal year 2023. The Audit Committee approved the engagement of Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, and EY has been engaged.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees and Services
The following table sets forth the aggregate audit fees billed to us by our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and their respective affiliates (collectively, “Deloitte”), and fees paid to Deloitte for services in the fee categories indicated below for fiscal years 2023 and 2022. The Audit Committee has considered the scope and fee arrangements for all services provided by Deloitte, taking into account whether the provision of non-audit services is compatible with maintaining Deloitte’s independence, and has pre-approved the services described below.
| Years Ended | |||||||||||
| Amounts in '000s | June 30, 2023 | June 30, 2022 | |||||||||
| Audit Fees(1) | $ | 4,756 | $ | 4,488 | |||||||
| Audit-Related Fees | — | — | |||||||||
| Tax Fees | 445 | 276 | |||||||||
| All Other Fees | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 5,203 | $ | 4,766 |
(1)Audit fees consist of the aggregate fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our consolidated financial statements, review of interim condensed consolidated financial statements and certain statutory audits.
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
The Audit Committee has determined that all services performed by Deloitte & Touche LLP are compatible with maintaining the independence of Deloitte & Touche LLP. The Audit Committee’s policy on approval of services performed by the independent registered public accounting firm is to pre-approve all audit and permissible non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm during the fiscal year. The Audit Committee reviews each non-audit service to be provided and assesses the impact of the service on the firm’s independence.
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) Documents filed as part of this report
(1) Financial Statements
(2) Financial Statement Schedules
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 141
All financial statement schedules have been omitted because they are either not applicable or the required information is shown in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.
(3) Exhibits
See the Exhibit Index which precedes the signature page of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Exhibits
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit Number | Exhibit Description | |||||||
| 3.3 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 filed with the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 3.4 | Amended and Restated Bylaws of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 filed with the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 4.1 | Specimen Stock Certificate for Shares of Common Stock of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 filed with the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 4.5 | Description of Securities (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.1* | Form of Directors’ and Officers’ Indemnity Agreement (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 from the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 10.2* | Offer Letter for Sara Liu (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 from the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 10.3* | Product Manufacturing Agreement dated January 8, 2007, between Super Micro Computer, Inc. and Ablecom Technology Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 from the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-138370), declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2007) | |||||||
| 10.4* | Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option under 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Commission File No. 333-142404) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27, 2017) | |||||||
| 10.5* | 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (Incorporated by reference to Appendix A from the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 18, 2011) | |||||||
| 10.6* | 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14, 2016) | |||||||
| 10.7* | Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option under 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.9 from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Commission File No. 333-210881 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 2016) | |||||||
| 10.8* | Form of Stock Option Agreement under 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.10 from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Commission File No. 333-210881) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 2016) | |||||||
| 10.9* | Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock Units under 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.11 from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Commission File No. 333-210881) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 2016) | |||||||
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 142
| 10.10* | Form of Restricted Stock Units Agreement under 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.12 from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Commission File No. 333-210881) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 2016) | |||||||
| 10.11 | Loan and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A., dated April 19, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.51 from the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.12 | Extension of Loan and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A., dated September 7, 2018 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.52 from the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.13 | Second Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of June 27, 2019 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company's Current report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 2, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.14*‡ | Offer Letter for Don Clegg (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.56 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.15*‡ | Offer Letter for George Kao (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.57 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.16*‡ | Offer Letter for David Weigand (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.17 | Letter Agreement with Bank of America, N.A., dated October 28, 2019 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.59 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019) | |||||||
| 10.18 | Third Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A. dated May 12, 2020 by and among Super Micro Computer, Inc., the lenders party thereto and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the lenders (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 13, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.19 | Summary of Terms & Conditions 10-Year Term Loan Facility, dated May 6, 2020 between Super Micro Computer Inc. Taiwan and CTBC Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.20* | Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, 2023) | |||||||
| 10.21* | Form of Incentive Stock Award Option Agreement under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.32 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.22* | Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.23* | Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock Units under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.34 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.24* | Form of Restricted Stock Units Agreement under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.35 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 31, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.25 | General Credit Agreement dated as of December 2, 2020 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 4, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.26 | Notification and Confirmation of Conditions for Import Loan, dated as of December 2, 2020 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 4, 2020) | |||||||
| 10.27* | Form of Notice of Grant of Performance Based Stock Option to Mr. Charles Liang dated March 2, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2021) | |||||||
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 143
| 10.28* | Nonqualified Stock Option Award Agreement associated with the Notice of Grant of Performance Based Stock Option to Mr. Charles Liang dated March 2, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.29 | Fourth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A. dated to be effective as of June 28, 2021 by and among Super Micro Computer, Inc., the lenders party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the lenders (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 29, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.30 | General Agreement for Omnibus Credit Lines dated as of July 20, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and CTBC Bank Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.31 | Agreement for Individually Negotiated Terms and Conditions dated as of October 3, 2022 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and CTBC Bank Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on 10-Q (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.32 | Summary of Short-Term Credit Facilities and 75 Month Term Loan Facility from CTBC Bank Co., Ltd. dated as of July 7, 2021 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.33 | English language translation of the Medium-to-Long Term Loan Agreement dated as of September 13, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Mega International Commercial Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.34 | General Credit Agreement dated as of September 13, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.35 | Notification and Confirmation of Credit Conditions, dated as of September 13, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.36 | English language translation of the Credit Authorization Agreement dated as of October 5, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 12, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.37 | English language translation of the Imported Goods Loan Agreement dated as of October 5, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 12, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.38 | English language translation of the Export Loan Agreement dated as of October 5, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 12, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.39 | English language translation of the Loan Agreement for the Action Plan for Accelerated Investments by Domestic Corporations dated as of October 5, 2021 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 12, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.40* | Form of Notice of Grant of Restricted Stock Units (One-Year Vesting, Pro-Rata at Termination) under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 5, 2021) | |||||||
| 10.41* | Form of Restricted Stock Units Agreement (One-Year Vesting, Pro-Rata at Termination) under 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 from the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 5, 2021) | |||||||
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 144
| 10.42 | General Loan, Export/Import Financing, Overdraft Facilities and Securities Agreement dated as of January 7, 2022 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Limited (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 13, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.43 | Facility Letter dated as of January 7, 2022 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Limited (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 13, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.44 | Fifth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A. dated to be effective as of March 3, 2022 by and among Super Micro Computer, Inc., the lenders party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the lenders (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.45+ | English language translation of the Omnibus Credit Authorization Agreement dated as of June 17, 2023 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Mega International Commercial Bank | |||||||
| 10.46 | English language translation of the Credit Authorization Agreement dated as of April 25, 2022 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Mega International Commercial Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.47+ | English language translation of the Credit Authorization Approval Notice dated as of May 25, 2023 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and Mega International Commercial Bank (Linkou Branch) | |||||||
| 10.48* | Super Micro Computer, Inc. 2020 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended and restated, effective May 18, 2022 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.49 | Loan Agreement dated as of May 19, 2022 between Cathay Bank and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.50 | English language translation of Credit Approval Notice dated as of May 13, 2022 from Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.51 | General Credit Agreement dated as of August 9, 2022, between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.52 | Notification and Confirmation of Credit Conditions, dated as of August 9, 2022 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 12, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.53 | First Amendment to Loan Agreement dated as of August 17, 2022 by and between Cathay Bank and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.58 from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.54 | Second Amendment to Loan Agreement dated as of October 13, 2022 by and between Cathay Bank and Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on 10-Q (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2022) | |||||||
| 10.55 | Facility Letter dated as of February 7, 2023 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Limited (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 10, 2023) | |||||||
| 10.56† | Notification and Confirmation of Credit Conditions, dated as of June 17, 2023 between Super Micro Computer, Inc. Taiwan and E.SUN Bank (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 23, 2023) | |||||||
| 10.57+ | Form of Restricted Stock Units Notice of Grant and Agreement (Associated with the Director Compensation Plan adopted in August 2023) | |||||||
| 10.58+ | Form of Notice of Grant of Stock Option and Nonqualified Stock Option Award Agreement (Associated with the Director Compensation Plan adopted in August 2023) | |||||||
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 145
| 14.1 | Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 from the Company’s Current Report on 8-K (Commission File No. 001-33383) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2019) | |||||||
| 19.1+ | Insider Trading Policy | |||||||
| 21.1+ | Subsidiaries of Super Micro Computer, Inc. | |||||||
| 23.1+ | Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | |||||||
| 24.1+ | Power of Attorney (included in signature pages) | |||||||
| 31.1+ | Certification of Charles Liang, President and CEO Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |||||||
| 31.2+ | Certification of David Weigand, CFO and Secretary Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |||||||
| 32.1+ | Certification of Charles Liang, President and CEO Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |||||||
| 32.2+ | Certification of David Weigand, CFO and Secretary Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |||||||
| 101.INS+ | XBRL Instance Document | |||||||
| 101.SCH+ | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |||||||
| 101.CAL+ | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.DEF+ | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.LAB+ | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |||||||
| 101.PRE+ | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
+ Filed herewith
- Management contract, or compensatory plan or arrangement
‡ Certain portions of this document, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, have been redacted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 606(a)(6)
† Portions of this exhibit have been redacted in compliance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(10)
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
None.
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 146
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER, INC.
| Date: | August 25, 2023 | /s/ Charles Liang | |||||||||
| Charles Liang President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board (Principal Executive Officer) |
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 147
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Charles Liang and David Weigand, jointly and severally, his or her attorney-in-fact, each with the full power of substitution, for such person, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might do or could do in person hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or his or her substitute, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Title | Date | ||||||||||||
| /s/ Charles Liang | President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board (Principal Executive Officer) | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| CHARLES LIANG | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ David Weigand | Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| DAVID WEIGAND | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Sara Liu | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| SARA LIU | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Daniel Fairfax | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| DANIEL FAIRFAX | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Judy Lin | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| JUDY LIN | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Robert Blair | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| ROBERT BLAIR | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Sherman Tuan | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| SHERMAN TUAN | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Shiu Leung (Fred) Chan | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| SHIU LEUNG (FRED) CHAN | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Tally Liu | Director | August 25, 2023 | ||||||||||||
| TALLY LIU |
SMCI | 2023 Form 10-K | 148