Micron Reports Surge in Revenue and Profit Driven by AI Chip Demand

Micron Technology announced a significant surge in revenue and profit, with sales quadrupling in its fiscal third quarter due to high demand for its memory chips used in AI systems. The company issued an optimistic forecast, causing its shares to rally in after-hours trading.
Micron Reports Surge in Revenue and Profit Driven by AI Chip Demand

Micron Reports Surge in Revenue and Profit Driven by AI Chip Demand Micron Technology’s latest earnings underscored how the global AI boom is rapidly reshaping the memory-chip market, turning a former commodity business into one of the industry’s most lucrative segments.

Micron’s fiscal third-quarter results marked the start of the current surge. The company reported revenue of nearly $42 billion, roughly quadruple the just-over-$9 billion it generated a year earlier, as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI accelerators became the main bottleneck in new data-center builds. Gross margins climbed above 81%, far higher than typical for memory makers, as constrained supply met voracious demand from Nvidia, Google and major cloud providers.

The profit picture evolved just as sharply. One account described a “15-fold profit surge” as AI companies “clamour for chips,” highlighting how Micron’s earnings expansion has outpaced even its revenue growth. Another report noted that profit jumped from $1.88 billion to $28.2 billion year-over-year, reflecting both higher prices and tight cost controls.

As the quarter progressed, the broader context became clearer. Analysts warned of a global “memory chip crunch,” with some predicting shortages through 2027 as demand for AI-ready RAM soars and costs begin “trickling down to consumers.” Micron, now the largest U.S. computer-memory chip maker, emerged as a prime beneficiary, with its market capitalization swelling to about $1.2 trillion and its share price climbing more than tenfold from early 2024 levels.

By earnings day, Micron was confident enough to raise guidance. The company projected fourth-quarter revenue of about $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion, far above last year’s roughly $11 billion. It also forecast between $49 billion and $51 billion in sales in another outlook, underscoring sustained demand. To secure future supply, Micron increased full-year capital spending to more than $25 billion and inked a deal to provide AI lab Anthropic with memory and storage chips, even joining the startup’s Series H funding round.

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