Micron Soars on Blockbuster Earnings Driven by AI Demand

Micron soared in premarket trading on Thursday after the memory maker reported blockbuster third-quarter earnings as the AI boom causes demand for memory to surge.

The company's revenue more than quadrupled from $9.3 billion a year earlier to $41.46 billion in its fiscal third quarter, it reported on Wednesday. Revenue came in higher than analyst expectations of nearly $36 billion, according to LSEG consensus estimates.

The company is now forecasting revenue of about $50 billion for the current quarter, an increase from $11.3 billion in the prior year. Its stock was last seen up 16.4% in premarket trading and rose a staggering 723% over the past year, pushing the company's market cap to $1.2 trillion.

Micron has benefited from the AI infrastructure buildout by major hyperscalers, as AI data centers require large amounts of memory chips. That has reduced the supply of memory available for smartphones, PCs, and other devices, creating a supply imbalance that has pushed memory prices higher and boosted Micron's results.

The company said on Wednesday that it has signed 16 long-term agreements with several customers ranging from data centers to automakers, locking in sales for a period of three to five years, and it expects to see financial commitments of $22 billion from them.

The company expects about 40% of its revenue to come from long-term contracts with a minimum price built in, RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note on Wednesday. That should help limit margin risk even if demand weakens during the contract term, which is typically five years, they added.

"Our base case is for current upcycle to continue through 2027, and SCAs give us added conviction regarding sustainability. We raise estimates, raise PT, and reiterate Outperform," the analysts said.

Tech stocks rebound

Micron's blowout earnings have helped boost global tech stocks, reversing a sharp selloff in the sector that hit companies including Intel, Nvidia, and AMD earlier in the week.

In premarket trading on Thursday, Qualcomm was last up 12%, Intel rose nearly 6%, AMD gained 3.6%, and Nvidia was up 1.5%.

"U.S. equities have recovered some ground as Micron's earnings have provided fresh reassurance that the AI investment cycle remains firmly intact," Capital.com Senior Market Analyst Daniela Hathorn said in a note Thursday.

Hathorn said robust demand for memory from data centers and AI infrastructure customers reinforces the narrative that capital spending on AI is continuously accelerating.

"That has helped lift sentiment across the semiconductor sector after recent weakness in high-growth names, suggesting investors remain willing to look through short-term volatility as long as the earnings outlook continues to justify elevated valuations," Hathorn said.