Micron’s Earnings Beat Estimates Again as AI Demand Remains High. Its Stock Is Plunging Anyway.

Micron Technology reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $54.23 billion, up 379% from a year earlier, as demand for memory used in artificial intelligence infrastructure drove sharp growth across its data center businesses.

The Boise, Idaho-based chipmaker recorded GAAP net income of $37.7 billion, or $32.87 a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 3, compared with $3.2 billion, or $2.83 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $33.42 a share, according to Micron's fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Revenue increased from $11.32 billion in the same quarter last year and $41.46 billion in the previous quarter. For the full fiscal year, Micron generated $133.19 billion in revenue, compared with $37.38 billion in fiscal 2025, while adjusted net income reached $86.76 billion.

The results were also above Wall Street expectations. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected adjusted earnings of $31.61 a share on revenue of $51.07 billion. However, its stock is plunging anyway on Thursday, falling 3.57% at 10:21 a.m. ET.

The biggest gains came from Micron's Core Data Center Business Unit, where quarterly revenue reached a record $18 billion, compared with $1.58 billion a year earlier. That represents an increase of about 1,042%, or more than 11 times the year-ago level, according to Micron's earnings presentation.

The unit accounted for roughly one-third of Micron's fourth-quarter revenue. Sales were also up 56% from $11.52 billion in the previous quarter, with Micron attributing the sequential increase to higher pricing and increased shipments.

Its Cloud Memory Business Unit generated another $16.28 billion, up from $4.54 billion a year earlier. Mobile and Client revenue reached $13.11 billion, while Automotive and Embedded revenue rose to $6.82 billion.

Micron said high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, revenue grew faster than its overall revenue during the quarter as it increased shipments to more customers. HBM stacks multiple layers of DRAM memory and is used alongside advanced processors to handle the large volumes of data required for AI computing.

The company is also working with Nvidia on what Micron described as the industry's first custom HBM4E implementation, called NVHBM, for use with future Nvidia GPUs and NVLink Fusion platforms.

Micron's data center storage business also expanded sharply. Data center SSD revenue was nearly $10 billion in the quarter, more than 10 times the level recorded a year earlier and accounting for more than two-thirds of the company's NAND revenue.

Micron expects the momentum to carry into its fiscal first quarter, forecasting revenue of about $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion. The company also expects adjusted earnings of $38.15 a share, plus or minus $1.

That compares with LSEG analyst expectations of roughly $57 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $35.40 a share, according to CNBC.

Micron reported operating cash flow of $43.97 billion in the fourth quarter and spent $10.77 billion on capital expenditures. Adjusted free cash flow totaled $33.2 billion. The company ended the fiscal year with $73.48 billion in cash, marketable investments and restricted cash.

The earnings growth comes as Micron expands manufacturing capacity to meet demand for advanced memory.

Micron has increased its planned U.S. manufacturing and research spending to more than $250 billion through 2035, with projects in New York, Idaho and Virginia. The company said the investment is intended to support a long-term goal of producing 40% of its DRAM in the United States.

Its first New York fabrication plant reached a construction milestone in July when Micron poured the first concrete at the Clay site. Initial wafer production there is scheduled for 2030, while its first new Idaho fab is expected to begin wafer output in mid-2027.

The U.S. Department of Commerce previously awarded Micron up to $6.165 billion in CHIPS Act funding for projects in Idaho and New York. The Commerce Department said the projects are intended to expand domestic production of advanced DRAM, including memory used in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.

Micron Chairman and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company is increasing investment in technology, products and manufacturing as AI drives greater demand for memory. Micron also disclosed that it has signed 26 multi-year strategic customer agreements that it estimates will account for more than 35% of company revenue through 2030.