NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)vs
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI)
Factual comparison for information only — not investment advice. Capital is at risk.
Quick verdict
These two sit at opposite ends of the same AI supply chain, and the scale gap frames everything. At the 4 September 2026 close NVIDIA carried a market value of $5,551.7bn against Super Micro's $26.0bn — a business more than two hundred times larger by value, with revenue of $303.0bn in the twelve months to July 2026 versus $39.1bn for Super Micro's fiscal year to June 2026. The chip designer wins growth, quality and income in our scoring, taking the overall tally 4-2; the server builder wins on valuation alone, trading at 12.1 times earnings and 0.67 times sales against 29.1 and 18.3. Balance-sheet strength and momentum are rated ties. The practical question is whether Super Micro's discount compensates for a 10.8% gross margin and negative free cash flow, set against NVIDIA's 65.2% operating margin.
At-a-glance comparison
| Metric | NVDA | SMCI |
|---|---|---|
| Price (4 Sept 2026) | $230.36 | $39.59 |
| Market cap | $5.55T | $26.0B |
| EV / EBITDA | 27.6× | 8.2× |
| Price / sales | 18.3× | 0.7× |
| FCF yield | 2.3% | -26.8% |
| Rev. growth (3y) | 100.0% | 76.3% |
| EPS growth (3y) | 206.6% | 41.9% |
| Operating margin | 65.2% | 7.1% |
| ROIC | 69.1% | 19.1% |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.05× | -1.01× |
| Dividend yield | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Business model and revenue mix
NVIDIA designs GPUs and accelerated-computing platforms sold into data-centre AI, gaming, professional visualisation and automotive markets — an intellectual-property-led model that shows up directly in a 74.67% gross margin. Super Micro assembles servers and storage systems, increasingly for AI workloads, built around partner GPUs and CPUs; its 10.82% gross margin reflects an integrator's economics, where much of the bill of materials is bought in. Both are US-listed technology companies on Nasdaq, and both reported fiscal 2026 results, though on different calendars: NVIDIA's figures are trailing twelve months to 26 July 2026, while Super Micro's are its full fiscal year to 30 June 2026. The two are commercially linked rather than direct rivals — one supplies the silicon the other packages into systems, which is why margin structure, not product, separates them.
Valuation
On every multiple in the data, Super Micro is the cheaper security, and the verdict goes to it. At the 4 September 2026 close it traded on 12.1 times trailing earnings, 0.67 times sales, 1.8 times book and 8.2 times EV/EBITDA. NVIDIA's equivalents were 29.1, 18.3, 24.2 and 27.6 — the price-to-sales gap being the starkest, a function of the margin difference described above rather than sentiment alone. PEG ratios narrow the distance: 0.14 for NVIDIA against 0.29 for Super Micro, because the earnings growth behind the chip designer's multiple has been far faster. Free cash flow yields point the other way entirely: 2.29% at NVIDIA versus minus 26.81% at Super Micro, whose working capital absorbed cash over its 2026 fiscal year. Cheap on earnings does not mean cheap on cash here.
Growth profile
Both have grown at rates few large companies manage, but NVIDIA has grown faster from a much larger base, and the growth verdict is its. Revenue compounded at 100.05% a year over the three fiscal years from 2023 to 2026, and at 66.90% annually over the five years from 2021 — the three-year figure measured from a fiscal 2023 that preceded the data-centre AI build-out, so the starting point flatters it. Earnings per share compounded at 206.61% over the same three-year span. Super Micro's numbers are strong in absolute terms: 76.34% annual revenue growth from 2023 and 61.48% from 2021, with EPS compounding at 41.94% over three years. The pattern is consistent — the server assembler captured volume, the chip designer captured volume and price, which is why the EPS gap dwarfs the revenue gap.
Profitability and quality
Margins are where this pair diverges most plainly, and quality goes to NVIDIA without argument. Gross margin of 74.67% in the twelve months to July 2026 converts into a 65.21% operating margin and a 63.66% net margin, turning $303.0bn of revenue into $192.9bn of net income and $127.0bn of free cash flow. Super Micro's fiscal 2026 gross margin of 10.82% leaves a 7.09% operating margin and 5.71% net margin, producing $2.2bn of net income on $39.1bn of revenue. Both report a genuine operating-income line, so no proxy is required. The contrast in cash conversion matters as much as the margin itself: NVIDIA's free cash flow was positive $127.0bn, while Super Micro's was negative $7.0bn, reflecting the inventory and receivables a hardware builder must fund to grow at this pace.
Balance-sheet risk
Neither company looks stretched, and the balance-sheet factor is rated a tie. As at 26 July 2026 NVIDIA held $22.4bn of cash against $33.4bn of total debt, leaving net debt at just 0.05 times EBITDA, with a current ratio of 4.59 and interest cover of 425.8 times. Super Micro's 30 June 2026 position shows $7.5bn of cash against $4.7bn of debt — a net cash position, with net debt to EBITDA at minus 1.01, a current ratio of 3.87 and interest cover of 14.24 times. On leverage the smaller company is nominally in better shape; on the absolute cushion and the ability to service borrowings from earnings, the larger one is. The offsetting consideration is Super Micro's negative free cash flow, which means its net cash position is being drawn on rather than added to.
Price performance and shareholder returns
Returns on capital favour NVIDIA by a wide margin. Return on equity of 117.21% in the twelve months to July 2026 is high partly because shareholders' equity of $229.0bn is small relative to $192.9bn of net income, but return on invested capital of 69.14% tells the same story without that distortion. Super Micro earned 21.47% on equity and 19.08% on invested capital in fiscal 2026 — respectable figures in isolation, and roughly a third of NVIDIA's on the ROIC measure. On shareholder distributions, the income verdict goes to NVIDIA by default: it paid $0.28 per share over the period for a 0.12% yield on a 3.51% payout ratio, plus a 1% buyback yield. Super Micro pays no dividend and shows no buyback, retaining everything to fund working capital.
Which stock fits which investor
Investors screening on price will find more to work with at Super Micro: 12.1 times earnings, 1.8 times book and 8.2 times EV/EBITDA is a modest rating for a business that grew revenue at 76.34% a year over three years, and our valuation verdict reflects that. Investors prioritising growth, business quality or income are pointed to NVIDIA, which carries all three verdicts on the strength of 100.05% three-year revenue compounding, a 69.14% return on invested capital and a small but real dividend and buyback. The style tags capture it: high-growth and high-quality for NVIDIA, high-growth for Super Micro. The overall score is 4-2 to NVIDIA. Momentum and balance-sheet strength are genuinely too close to separate, so neither factor should sway the choice between them.
- Value: SMCI
- Growth: NVDA
- Income: NVDA
- Quality: NVDA
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Frequently asked questions
- How much bigger is NVIDIA than Super Micro?
- Substantially. At the 4 September 2026 close NVIDIA's market capitalisation was $5,551.7bn against Super Micro's $26.0bn, and revenue was $303.0bn for the twelve months to July 2026 versus $39.1bn for Super Micro's fiscal year to June 2026 — roughly eight times the sales and far more than that in market value.
- Which stock is cheaper on the numbers?
- Super Micro, on every multiple available. As at 4 September 2026 it traded on 12.1 times trailing earnings, 0.67 times sales, 1.8 times book and 8.2 times EV/EBITDA, compared with 29.1, 18.3, 24.2 and 27.6 for NVIDIA.
- Why is Super Micro's free cash flow yield negative?
- Its free cash flow for the fiscal year to June 2026 was minus $7.0bn, giving a yield of minus 26.81%. Rapid revenue growth of 76.34% a year over three years requires funding inventory and receivables, which absorbs cash. NVIDIA's free cash flow over the twelve months to July 2026 was positive $127.0bn, a 2.29% yield.
- Why are the margins so different?
- The two occupy different positions in the chain. NVIDIA's gross margin was 74.67% and its operating margin 65.21%; Super Micro's were 10.82% and 7.09%. A server integrator buys in much of its bill of materials, while a chip designer sells intellectual property embedded in silicon.
- Does either company pay a dividend?
- Only NVIDIA, and modestly: $0.28 per share over the twelve months to July 2026, a 0.12% yield on a 3.51% payout ratio, alongside a 1% buyback yield. Super Micro pays no dividend and shows no buyback.
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Methodology and data sources
Each comparison runs both companies through a transparent six-factor framework — valuation, growth, profitability/quality, balance-sheet strength, income and momentum. Factor winners are decided by fixed rules on the metrics shown above, not opinion. Financial-statement figures come from each company's own filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (annual 10-K and quarterly 10-Q reports, read from EDGAR's XBRL data). Income-statement and cash-flow items are trailing twelve months to July 26, 2026 for NVDA and June 30, 2026 for SMCI; balance-sheet items are as at each company's latest reported quarter. Share prices are exchange closing prices as of September 4, 2026, and every valuation multiple combines those prices with the filed figures. Forward P/E is not shown because analyst estimates are not part of any filing. The “last updated” date is when this page was last regenerated. TickerVerdict provides factual data comparisons for informational purposes only. Nothing here is investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Figures may be delayed; verify with your broker before investing. Capital is at risk.