Micron Technology Inc.’s earnings report on Wednesday afternoon is shaping up to be one of the most important in months as investors find themselves suddenly on edge over the sustainability of the AI rally.
The memory-chip maker’s shares have soared about 270% this year amid insatiable demand from data-center developers. The gain has made Micron the biggest point contributor by far to the roughly 8% advance in the S&P 500, whose leader board is dominated by other memory and storage companies including Sandisk Corp., Western Digital Corp. and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc.
But concerns are mounting about how much longer the good times can last. Semiconductor stocks around the world tumbled on Tuesday following a report out of South Korea that Micron rival SK Hynix is slowing expansion of AI memory chip production. In the US, Micron shares dropped 13%, leading the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index to its worst decline since June 5. That’s putting extra attention on what Micron has to say about the outlook for AI demand.
“Any disappointment with Micron’s results could reinforce the waterfall dynamic, but a clean print could draw buyers back into the space,” said Joe Mazzola, head trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab.
Micron shares were little changed at 10:05 a.m. in New York trading on Wednesday while the semiconductor index declined 0.4%.
A geyser of cash coming from tech giants locked in a race to add data-center capacity has made the makers of computing components and equipment the year’s best performing stocks. Micron alone accounts for nearly one-fifth of the S&P 500’s gain in 2026 and seven of the 10 biggest point contributors are semiconductor-related stocks.
So far, there are no signs that the flow of money is slowing. The biggest spenders — Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. — are planning to deploy as much as $725 billion on capital expenditures in 2026 and have pledged significantly more outlays next year. But that hasn’t entirely quelled fears that the boom is just setting investors up for a bust when spending cools, a dynamic that has played out in past semiconductor cycles, which have been particularly painful for memory-chip makers.
“The view now is that we may be in a situation where companies like Micron and other memory companies may be able to smooth these out, and that the total addressable market is significantly bigger and longer than in previous cycles,” said Melissa Otto, head of technology, media and telecommunications research at Visible Alpha. “The market is going to be looking to get clarity around that.”
Micron is projected to report net income of $23.8 billion on revenue of $35.7 billion in its fiscal third quarter, which ended on May 31, according to the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That would represent jumps of 1,165% and 284%, respectively, from a year ago.
The company’s long-term supply agreements and the durability of that backlog will also be closely watched for signs that demand is going to hold up, according to Ryuta Makino, a research analyst at Gabelli Funds.
Of course, the rally in Micron shares has ratcheted up expectations, and the company’s earnings reports have often disappointed investors. The stock has fallen on the day after earnings in five of the past six quarters, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The options market is pricing in a 10.5% swing in the share price in either direction following the report.
“I’m a little bit worried,” said Paul Meeks, managing director and head of technology research at Freedom Capital Markets. “As you’ve seen in some prior quarters, almost regardless of the results and guidance, the stock went down afterward.”
While Micron may not be at peak earnings yet, it might not be far away, Meeks said. Revenue growth is projected to slow to 76% in fiscal 2027 and 7% in 2028.
Of course, investors may be comforted by Micron’s relatively cheap valuation. The stock is priced at less than 10 times estimated earnings, compared with 20 times for the S&P 500 and 24 times for the Nasdaq 100.
That’s likely one reason Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish on Micron with 50 of the 55 analysts who cover the stock rating it a buy while none recommend selling, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But the stock has run up so far that analyst price targets have struggled to keep pace. Prior to Tuesday’s selloff, Micron’s average price target of $1,153 implied a decline of 5% over the next 12 months.
“There’s a huge, high bar here,” said David Wagner, head of equities and a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “We have to realize how much perfection has been priced into the stock.”
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Earnings Premarket:Daktronics Inc. (DAKT US)Earnings Postmarket:Methode Electronics Inc. (MEI US)Micron Technology Inc. (MU US)“Equity Insights” are short stories on equity market color, combining key insights from traders, strategists, reporters and more. They can be found by running NI EQINSIGHT, and can be subscribed to here.
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