All artificial-intelligence stocks are risky, but some are riskier than others.

Super Micro Computer investors were reminded of that Monday as the stock tumbled 8% to $28.15 after Taiwanese investigators raided the AI server maker's offices as part of an inquiry into alleged smuggling of Nvidia chips to China.

Prosecutors targeted six individuals with charges focused on document forgery and breach of trust, The Wall Street Journal reported. The people's identities were not revealed.

It comes after Taiwanese authorities arrested three people and seized 50 servers in May as part of a collaboration with Super Micro to "prevent illicit diversion of server technology," the company said in a statement at the time.

The stock has now fallen for five consecutive days, dropping 21% over that period -- though it pointed 2% higher ahead of the open Tuesday. In the two days before the losing streak it jumped 28%. The shares have moved more than 4% -- in either direction -- on 14 of the 20 trading days in June so far.

Shares of Super Micro's server rival Dell jumped 3.8% in Monday's trading and could be well-placed to capitalize on the chip-smuggling scandal.

"I'm looking at alternatives to SMCI here," said Bob Lang, an options trader and founder of trading-strategy platform Explosive Options. "Dell is a competitor, and the last time Super Micro ran into some trouble or difficulty, it was a slam dunk for Dell. They picked up a lot of business and a lot of customers," he added.

"If you want to buy an AI data center server stock, just buy DELL at almost any price," Freedom Capital Markets analyst, Paul Meeks said.

Dell stock has jumped 229% this year, compared with Super Micro's 3.8% fall through Monday's close.

Super Micro said it is cooperating with authorities in Taiwan and other global jurisdictions to protect its technology and intellectual property, the Journal reported Tuesday. The company's didn't immediately respond to a Barron's request for comment Tuesday.

In March, the U.S. government charged Super Micro co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw and two other individuals for an alleged plan to divert U.S.-assembled servers to China in a violation of export-control laws. Wally resigned immediately.

The stock fell 33% that day to $20.53. While the shares have recovered since then, Monday's slump brings the chip-smuggling allegations and uncertainty back into focus.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

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June 30, 2026 05:51 ET (09:51 GMT)

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