Micron Technology (MU) shares slumped lower Tuesday after the chipmaker lowered its near-term revenue guidance amid what it described as "macroeconomic factors and supply chain constraints" that have blunted global demand.
Micron said its new CFO, Mark Murphy, will speak at an industry conference later today and indicate that fiscal fourth quarter revenues will likely come in at the lower end of its early July guidance, or possibly below, adding that he expects a "challenging market environment in FQ4 22 and FQ1 23."
"In FQ1, bit shipments are now expected to decline sequentially, and we expect significant sequential declines in revenue and margins," Micron said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published Tuesday. We expect free cash flow to be negative in FQ1."
Micron had cautioned in late June that waning demand, will likely mean it will begin decreasing the amount of chips it produces in the fall, in order to maintain firm pricing, and said it sees revenues for its fiscal fourth quarter at only 7.2 billion, well shy of the Refinitiv forecast of around $9.1 billion, thanks in part to a 30% hit to Micron's overall China sales.
Micron shares were marked 5.1% lower in early afternoon trading Tuesday to change hands at $58.32 each.
Earlier Tuesday, Micron also unveiled plans to invest around $40 billion over the next eight years in expanding its domestic chip production ahead of President Joe Biden signing into law the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act later today at the White House.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the bill is an "important step toward solidifying American semiconductor leadership for decades to come. I am honored to take part in this historic White House bill signing ceremony with them and fellow executives".
In late June, Micron non-GAAP earnings of $2.59 per share for the three months ending in May on revenues of $8.64 billion -- both of which topped Street forecasts -- in late June and noted the China weakness and a broader pullback in global chip demand will clip earnings growth over the coming months.
DRAM revenues, which represent around three quarters of Micron's top line, rose 15% from last year to $6.3 billion, while NAND revenues were up 26% to $2.3 billion.
