Micron Technology (MU) stock is soaring Thursday after the memory chipmaker beat top- and bottom-line expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter and provided an outlook that is higher than Wall Street anticipates.
In the quarter ended August 29, Micron's revenue increased 93.3% year-over-year to $7.75 billion. Its earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.18 compared with a loss of $1.07 in the year-ago period.
Micron's sizzling year-over-year revenue growth came "as robust artificial intelligence (AI) demand drove a strong ramp of our data center DRAM products and our industry-leading high bandwidth memory," said Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra in a statement. "Our NAND revenue record was led by data center SSD sales, which exceeded $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time."
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The results came in ahead of analysts' expectations. Wall Street was anticipating revenue of $7.66 billion and earnings of $1.11 per share, according to Yahoo Finance.
For its first quarter of the new fiscal year, Micron is expecting revenue of $8.7 billion, plus or minus $200 million, and earnings of $1.74 per share, plus or minus 8 cents, both of which are ahead of analysts' forecasts for revenue of $8.3 billion and earnings of $1.64 per share.
"We are entering fiscal 2025 with the best competitive positioning in Micron's history," Mehrotra said. "We forecast record revenue in fiscal Q1 and a substantial revenue record with significantly improved profitability in fiscal 2025."
Is Micron stock a buy, sell or hold?
Micron is one of the best stocks on Wall Street today, but shares have been outperforming the broader market for most of the year. And Wall Street thinks the chipmaker has more room to run.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the average analyst target price for MU stock is $146.81, representing implied upside of more than 30% to current levels. Additionally, the consensus recommendation is a Strong Buy.
Financial services firm Needham is one of those with a Buy rating on the semiconductor stock, along with a $140 price target.
"We expect MU to benefit from the recovery in the memory cycle in calendar year 2024 after the worst supply-demand imbalance in thirteen years," says Needham analyst Quinn Bolton. "Long term, we view MU as a key beneficiary of strong data center demand – both AI and machine learning (ML) – automotive semi content, graphics, and industrial automation."
Related Content
-
Heirs Inheriting Crypto? Don't Make It a Headache for ThemIf you have cryptocurrency in your estate, you'll need meticulous plans and clear instructions to ensure beneficiaries don't lose out after you're gone.
-
DIY Retirement Planning: A Smart Move or a Risky Endeavor?You can cut the cost of retirement planning by doing it yourself. But for something this important, it might be wiser to call in the professionals.
-
Galentine's Day: A Time to Promote Financial Literacy Among FriendsHere are three things women can do to help their friends gain financial knowledge and confidence.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Turn Lower on Nasty Inflation SurpriseEquities sold off after a hot reading on consumer price inflation pushed back rate cuts to autumn or year-end.
-
CPI Report Puts the Kibosh on Rate Cuts: What the Experts Are Saying About InflationCPI Consumer price inflation reared its ugly head to start the year, dashing hopes for the Fed to lower borrowing costs anytime soon.
-
These Two Issues Are Critical to Efficient Retirement PlanningYou're saving hard for retirement, but if you're not thinking ahead about taxes and the cost of health care, your savings — and your legacy — could be at risk.
-
How to Use Good Debt (While Identifying and Avoiding Bad Debt)Not all debt is bad, but knowing the difference between good debt and bad debt and how to use them can help you get ahead financially and stay ahead.
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Reflect Elevated UncertaintyInvestors and traders as well as CEOs and central bankers continue to adjust to a new administration in Washington, D.C.
