Micron Technology delivered a blockbuster set of quarterly results and a significantly stronger-than-expected forecast, sending its shares soaring about 16 per cent in early trading on Thursday as investors welcomed fresh evidence of sustained demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The memory-chip manufacturer reported record revenue and earnings for its fiscal third quarter, comfortably surpassing Wall Street expectations, while forecasting another period of robust growth driven by soaring demand for advanced memory products used in AI applications.
Micron projected fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of between $49 billion and $51 billion, substantially above analysts’ consensus estimate of $43.24 billion. The company also forecast earnings per share of $30.00 to $32.00, exceeding market expectations of $25.31.
The upbeat outlook reinforced confidence in the semiconductor sector, particularly among investors betting on the continued expansion of AI technologies.
“We’re running out of superlatives to describe performance,” Raymond James analyst Melissa Fairbanks wrote in a note to clients after raising her price target on the stock.
Micron also sought to allay concerns that profit margins may have peaked. The company forecast a gross margin of 86 per cent for the current quarter, comfortably ahead of the 81.9 per cent expected by analysts.
The company has emerged as a major beneficiary of a tight memory market, where limited supply and rapidly rising demand have supported pricing. Memory products remain essential components in AI processors and data-centre infrastructure, including systems powered by chips from NVIDIA and Alphabet.
BofA analyst Vivek Arya said the results strengthened the case for memory’s growing importance in the AI era.
“The increasing supply-side discipline is supporting a more durable cycle,” Arya noted.
During the company’s earnings call, management indicated that supply constraints are likely to persist for several years, reflecting the scale of demand generated by AI workloads.
“We expect tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027 as a result of AI-driven demand across all segments coupled with structural supply constraints,” said Micron Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra.
The comments prompted further optimism among investors and industry analysts. Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster said the outlook suggested that demand could continue to outstrip supply well into 2028 or even 2029.
Micron’s growing role in the AI supply chain has fuelled a remarkable rise in its share price, which has climbed more than 700 per cent over the past year, helping the company surpass a market capitalisation of $1 trillion.
Jake Behan, Head of Capital Markets at Direxion, said the company’s latest results highlighted the increasing profitability of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in AI systems.
“Demand was never the question, durability was,” Behan said. “AI demand is showing up in revenue, but HBM pricing power is what’s driving margins and resetting the earnings profile higher.”
For the quarter ended 28 May, Micron reported adjusted earnings of $25.11 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $20.49. Revenue surged to a record $41.46 billion, above expectations of $35.69 billion and sharply higher than the $9.30 billion reported in the same period a year earlier.
“Micron’s record fiscal Q3 financial results and even stronger outlook for Q4 reflect the strategic value of memory in the AI era,” Mehrotra said.
He added that the company was investing at record levels in technology, products and manufacturing capacity to meet rapidly growing customer demand.
Micron revealed that it invested $7.1 billion in capital expenditure during the quarter and generated adjusted free cash flow of $18.3 billion. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, payable on 21 July.
The company highlighted continued progress across its AI-focused portfolio, including high-volume shipments of HBM4 memory for a leading customer platform, development of next-generation HBM4E products, and expanded production of advanced solid-state drives and LPDDR5X memory solutions.
Analysts at Wedbush described the earnings report as a significant boost for technology investors and the broader semiconductor industry.
“Micron’s stellar earnings report shows the memory and chip trade remains well intact and is still in the early stages of playing out,” the firm said.
The results are likely to further strengthen investor confidence that the AI investment boom remains firmly on track, with memory chips increasingly emerging as one of the sector’s most critical and profitable components.
