Super Micro's stock was already delisted once before, in a drawn-out process with various extensions.
SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC faces a looming deadline to outline how it will get back in the good graces of the Nasdaq, with the server maker on thin ice as it tries to maintain its listing on the exchange.
But the company's past delisting shows that the process of reaching that point can be drawn-out, with various extensions given along the way.
Super Micro already delayed its annual filing to review its financial controls. It said in a September filing that it was informed by the Nasdaq that it had 60 calendar days from Sept. 17 to get the exchange's approval for a plan detailing how it will get back in compliance with listing requirements. That gets to a date of Nov. 16.
Nasdaq rules on "discipline" state that the "last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday."
A source close to the company said the effective deadline is Nov. 18 since the 60-day deadline falls on a Saturday.
Submission of a satisfactory plan has been made harder by the fact that Super Micro's last auditor, Ernst & Young, resigned last month after raising concerns about the company's accounting and saying that it wasn't willing to be associated with management's financial statements.
"To remain listed Super Micro needs to submit to Nasdaq a plan of how they are going to regain compliance," said Olga Usvyatsky, an accounting analyst and author of an accounting newsletter, Deep Quarry. "It is up to Nasdaq whether to accept or reject the plan."
Were the Nasdaq to accept Super Micro's plan, the company might get an extension to get current on its requirements, she added.
It seems unlikely that Super Micro will have a new auditor by the time the Nasdaq deadline comes around. The company disclosed Wednesday that it will also need time to file its quarterly filing for the most recent quarter. In doing so, Super Micro said in a filing that it "needs additional time "to select and engage a successor firm" and for that auditor to review the financial statements from last fiscal year.
Super Micro shares are down 62% in the past month, and Wall Street seems pessimistic that the company will be able to satisfy the deadline and thus keep its Nasdaq listing without an auditor. The company said in Wednesday's filing that it was "diligently working to select an independent registered public accounting firm."
"As we previously disclosed, [Super Micro] intends to take all necessary steps to achieve compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements as soon as possible," a company spokesperson told MarketWatch on Thursday.
It remains to be seen if the company will be able to submit a satisfactory proposal without an auditor or whether the Nasdaq would be willing to accept a proposal if Super Micro doesn't yet have a new accountant but can show it's close to getting one.
If Super Micro shares ultimately get delisted, they would continue to trade but do so over the counter rather than on the Nasdaq exchange, and perhaps with a change to the company's ticker symbol. When electric-vehicle maker Fisker was delisted earlier this year, it moved to OTC trading, and the company's ticker symbol changed to "FSRN" from "FSR."
Super Micro was delisted already, back in 2018, which might mean that the Nasdaq has it on a shorter leash this time around.
Back in September 2017, Super Micro had delayed its annual filing and was notified by the Nasdaq that it had 60 days to submit a proposal for how it would get back in compliance. Super Micro said it could appeal if its plan didn't get accepted.
When that 60-day deadline hit in November 2017, the company said it needed more time to complete and audit review and finalize its financials. The company was then given some time to submit a revised plan.
By March 2018, Super Micro's stock had still yet to be delisted, and the company sought a hearing with the Nasdaq at which it would present a plan to get back in compliance with Nasdaq requirements. At the time, Super Micro noted in a filing that the hearings panel had the authority to grant it up to 360 days from when the original filing was due in order to regain its compliance.
That May, Super Micro said it was on track to submit the needed filings and the hearings panel granted it until August of that year to get current with filing requirements. The panel said Super Micro was able to stay listed until then.
But the company fell short of that August 2018 deadline as well, with its shares moving to the OTC markets after they were suspended from the Nasdaq.
In all, it was a drawn-out process that investors shouldn't rule out this time around either.
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