Key Points
-
Analysts expect Q1 2026 earnings of $3.79 per share on $12.61 billion in revenue.
-
The company is exiting its Crucial consumer business to focus manufacturing capacity on more lucrative AI server chips.
-
The memory chip industry is enjoying skyrocketing unit prices as supply-and-demand economics work in Micron’s favor.
- 10 stocks we like better than Micron Technology ›
Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) reports results for fiscal first-quarter 2026 on Dec. 17. If analyst estimates prove accurate, shareholders might want to break out the champagne — or at least a celebratory energy drink. You know the drill: Massive computing demand from artificial intelligence (AI) software giants can power massive business results on the hardware side.
What Wall Street expects from Micron’s big day
Wall Street analysts expect the memory chip giant to post earnings of $3.79 per share on revenue of $12.61 billion. That year-over-year growth would make even the most jaded tech investor do a double-take. The earnings estimate points to more than double last year’s Q1 earnings of $1.79 per share. Revenue should jump 45% higher, from $8.71 billion.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Recent moves signal confidence in the AI boom’s staying power. In November, Micron began shipping its automotive UFS 4.1 solution, doubling bandwidth to 4.2 gigabytes per second (GB/s) to feed data-hungry AI models in next-generation vehicles. Every car is basically a computer nowadays, you know.
More tellingly, Micron announced this week that it’s exiting the Crucial consumer business entirely by February 2026. Why abandon a well-known brand? Simply put, they need every ounce of manufacturing capacity for the more lucrative AI server chip market.
Image source: Micron Technology.
About those eye-popping valuation ratios…
Yes, Micron’s stock looks pricey at 31 times trailing earnings and a downright comedic 160 times free cash flow. But here’s the thing about those ratios — they can get distorted when a company has recently crawled out of the earnings basement. When your trailing-12-month denominator was barely positive last quarter, even modest improvements create eye-popping multiples.
Demand for high-bandwidth memory shows no signs of cooling, and the memory-chip industry is enjoying skyrocketing unit prices as a result. The supply and-demand economics are working in Micron’s favor right now.
So, Micron appears well positioned to deliver another quarter of impressive growth. Tune in on Dec. 17 to see the whole story.
Should you invest $1,000 in Micron Technology right now?
Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Micron Technology wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $540,587!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,118,210!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 991% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 195% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2025
Anders Bylund has positions in Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Leave a Reply