Penguin Names Cumming CFO After Record Fiscal 2026
The AI Factory Platform company said it posted multiple records in the fourth quarter and lifted its fiscal 2027 outlook.
Penguin Solutions, Inc. (PENG), the AI Factory Platform company, appointed Stephen Cumming as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately, as it entered fiscal 2027 after a year in which sales growth reversed from a year-ago decline into a record third-quarter print.
Cumming, most recently chief financial officer of Edgio, brings public-company finance experience across infrastructure systems, software, services, and semiconductors. He previously served as CFO of Cambium Networks through its 2019 IPO, of Kenandy, Inc., and of Atmel Corporation, and held senior finance roles at Fairchild Semiconductor and National Semiconductor. Aaron Johnson, who has been interim CFO since July 2026, will return as Vice President of Finance and Accounting.
President and Chief Executive Officer Kash Shaikh said the company enters fiscal 2027 with “strong AI-driven momentum, meaningful operating leverage, and a clear strategy to scale our AI Factory Platform business.” Cumming said Penguin has “a differentiated position at the intersection of data center AI infrastructure and memory, with a significant opportunity ahead as customers scale production AI.”
In a separate release the same day, Penguin reported fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results with multiple company records and raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook. The company designs, builds, and manages next-generation data centers for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers, combining infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, and services.
The fiscal 2026 arc is the backdrop for the hire. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, net sales were $343 million, down 6% versus the year-ago quarter. Advanced Computing was $115.7 million, Integrated Memory $171.6 million, and Optimized LED $55.7 million. GAAP diluted earnings were $0.58 a share versus $0.09 a year earlier; non-GAAP diluted earnings were $0.52 a share in both periods. GAAP gross margin was 27.3%; non-GAAP gross margin was 31.2%.
Three months later the trajectory flipped. Third-quarter net sales reached a record $479 million, up 48% versus the year-ago quarter. GAAP operating income was a record $51 million, up 417% versus the year-ago quarter, and non-GAAP operating income was a record $64 million, up 67%. GAAP diluted earnings were $0.68 a share versus a loss of $0.01 a share a year earlier; non-GAAP diluted earnings were $0.84 a share, up 79%.
Shaikh said Integrated Memory net sales more than doubled year over year in the third quarter and that the AI Infrastructure business continued to build momentum. Across the trailing four quarters from the third quarter of fiscal 2025 through the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Penguin added 16 new Integrated Memory logos, five of which subsequently increased their business. AI Infrastructure added four new customer logos in the third quarter; across the same four-quarter span it added 13 new logos, seven of which subsequently increased their business.
The company had already been lifting its fiscal 2026 outlook. As of April 1, 2026, it expected 12% year-over-year net sales growth plus or minus 5%, GAAP diluted EPS of $1.30 plus or minus $0.15, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $2.15 plus or minus $0.15, from a prior outlook of 6% year-over-year net sales growth plus or minus 10%, GAAP EPS of $0.85 plus or minus $0.25, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.00 plus or minus $0.25.
After the third quarter, Penguin further raised that outlook. As of July 7, 2026, it expected full-year fiscal 2026 net sales growth of 22% plus or minus 2%, GAAP EPS of $1.97 plus or minus 5 cents, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.60 plus or minus 5 cents, above the high end of its previously issued ranges. Shaikh said the company was seeing “very strong AI-driven customer demand for memory and AI infrastructure solutions” and that, as inference and agentic AI workloads become more persistent, memory is increasingly a primary performance and scalability bottleneck.
Cumming said he looks forward to helping “translate growth into sustainable earnings, cash flow, and long-term shareholder value.” Johnson’s return to the finance-and-accounting role leaves the company with a permanent CFO in place as it scales the platform business described in the same release as the source of its fiscal 2027 outlook.