Micron, one of the select companies capable of manufacturing advanced memory chips at scale, announced on Wednesday that its third-quarter revenue reached $41.4 billion (€36.5bn). This figure represents a more than four-fold increase from the $9.3 billion (€8.2bn) reported during the same period last year and comfortably exceeded the $35.7 billion (€31.4bn) forecast by analysts.
The company’s profit growth was even more substantial. The Idaho-based firm posted a net income of $28.24 billion (€24.9bn), or $24.67 per share, rising from less than $2 billion (€1.7bn) just one year prior. Adjusted earnings of $25.11 per share also surpassed the expected $20.49. Market response was immediate, with Micron shares climbing more than 15% in after-hours trading to approximately $1,213, pushing the company’s total valuation to roughly $1.16 trillion (€1tn).
Over the past year, the company’s stock has surged about 700%, marking one of the most significant re-ratings of a large corporation during the AI expansion. This shift highlights a fundamental change in the economics of building AI infrastructure. Major hyperscalers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta have collectively allocated hundreds of billions of dollars in capital spending this year, relying heavily on high-bandwidth memory, a specialized chip essential for pairing with processors from firms like Nvidia. Micron confirmed that its entire 2026 production capacity for these specialized chips is already fully booked through fixed-price contracts.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated that these results demonstrate the strategic value of memory in the current AI era. The company is leaning into multi-year customer agreements, which it believes will make future earnings more predictable and durable, a notable departure for an industry historically characterized by volatile boom-and-bust cycles.
Analysts have expressed surprise at the firm’s profitability, specifically its gross margin of around 85% for the quarter. This performance now rivals or exceeds that of significantly larger technology companies, such as Nvidia and Meta, providing the memory manufacturer with exceptional pricing power due to limited supply. New factory capacity is not expected to contribute meaningful output until 2028.
Micron’s forward-looking guidance appears even more robust. The firm anticipates revenue of approximately $50 billion (€44bn) for the current quarter with adjusted earnings of about $31 per share, signaling that the current growth trend is accelerating. To meet this demand, management informed analysts that it is increasing its capital expenditure to about $27 billion (€23.7bn) for this fiscal year, with further investment increases planned for 2027. While these results offer strong reassurance to investors regarding the health of AI infrastructure spending, industry observers continue to monitor the market for the inevitable point when supply growth might eventually catch up to demand.
