Memory-chip giant Micron Technology late Wednesday beat estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter and guided higher than views for the current period. Micron stock jumped in extended trading.
The Boise, Idaho-based company earned an adjusted $1.18 a share on sales of $7.75 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 29. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Micron earnings of $1.11 a share on sales of $7.65 billion. In the year-earlier period, Micron lost an adjusted $1.07 a share on sales of $4.01 billion.
For the current quarter, Micron predicted adjusted earnings of $1.74 a share on sales of $8.7 billion. Analysts were modeling earnings of $1.52 a share on sales of $8.27 billion in the fiscal first quarter. In the same quarter last year, Micron lost an adjusted 95 cents a share on sales of $4.73 billion.
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, MU stock surged more than 13% to 108.32. During the regular session Wednesday, MU stock rose 1.9% to close at 95.77.
MU Stock: Data Center AI Drives Results
"Micron delivered 93% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal Q4, as robust AI demand drove a strong ramp of our data center DRAM products and our industry-leading high-bandwidth memory," Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said in a news release.
Micron also posted record Nand product revenue in the quarter, he said. Sales of solid-state drives for data centers fueled the strong sales, Mehrotra said.
"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."
Micron makes two main types of computer memory: DRAM and Nand. DRAM chips act as the main memory in PCs, servers and other devices, working closely with central processing units. Nand flash memory provides longer-term data storage.
Dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, accounted for 69% of Micron's revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter. Nand flash memory accounted for 31% of its revenue during the period.
Micron Defies Negative Sentiment
Wall Street analysts were skeptical about Micron's prospects heading into the earnings report. At least seven Wall Street firms trimmed their price targets for MU stock in the past week and a half.
Micron ranks sixth out of nine stocks in IBD's Computer-Data Storage industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. MU stock has a weak IBD Composite Rating of 38 out of 99.
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