Micron (MU +5.07%) just did something that no other stock in history has done before.
The memory chip stock went from a market cap of $500 billion to $1 trillion in just 48 trading days, while most trillion-dollar stocks have taken more than a year to achieve that milestone.
Memory chip stocks have been on fire, and Micron’s two Korean peers, Samsung and SK Hynix, also recently topped the trillion-dollar mark, though they didn’t make those gains as fast as Micron did.
The Idaho-based maker of DRAM, HBM, and NAND was catapulted over the threshold by a note from UBS that lifted its price target on the stock to $1,650, calling for more than double at the time.
UBS said long-term memory supply agreements could support increased pricing and demand visibility across the industry, supporting a surge in earnings and free cash flow through 2029.
Micron just announced its fiscal third-quarter earnings date for June 24. Is the chip stock a buy before then? Let’s take a look at the latest signs.
Image source: Getty Images.
Management just gave a bullish signal
The bottleneck has already delivered a surge in revenue and profits for Micron. In its most recent quarter, revenue nearly tripled to $23.8 billion, and net income jumped by nearly 10x to $13.8 billion as the company recorded a 67.6% operating margin in the quarter.
Now, management sees those tailwinds picking up. At a JPMorgan Chase investor conference, executive vice president of global operations, Manish Bhatia, said that the company’s financial outlook had strengthened since its last earnings report.
Bhatia argued that the gap between supply and demand was structural, rather than cyclical, and predicted that tightness in the memory market, across DRAM, HBM, and NAND, would remain well beyond calendar 2026. He also said that some key customers are only able to fill around 60% of their memory needs, showing how constrained supply is.
In March, Micron had guided to revenue of $32.75 billion-$34.25 billion in the third quarter and adjusted earnings per share of $18.75-$19.55. Bhatia’s comments make it seem like Micron will beat those targets. Wall Street’s estimates are still in line with that forecast, calling for $33.7 billion in revenue, or an increase of 262%, and adjusted earnings per share of $19.21, up from $1.91 in the quarter a year ago.
Nvidia just added to the tailwind
In an interview shortly after Nvidia’s recent earnings report, CFO Collette Kress said the chip leader saw before others that memory prices would spike, and that it “ordered a long time ago.” On core memory products, she added, “We’re actually working with them on what to build.”
That’s another positive sign for Micron, and it shows that there is existing demand for current products as well as future ones, which could drive its growth beyond the usual constraint of the memory cycle.
Today’s Change
(5.07%) $46.82
Current Price
$970.34
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$1.1T
Day’s Range
$940.59 – $981.21
52wk Range
$94.40 – $981.21
Volume
1.8M
Avg Vol
47.8M
Gross Margin
58.54%
Dividend Yield
0.05%
One thing to keep in mind
Micron and the broader memory sector are notoriously cyclical as prices for memory chips tend to swing up and down as inventory levels fluctuate.
The AI boom has created a supercycle, and growth could last for years, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a downside in the future. Given Micron’s parabolic run-up, the chances of a significant sell-off at some point are high.
However, the memory boom could last for several more years, meaning the stock could still move much higher, especially as it trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 16 and earnings are expected to surge in fiscal 2027 as well.
With momentum still building, Micron looks poised to move higher. Buying the stock before the June 24 earnings report looks like a smart move.
