#美光财报超预期盘后大涨 Micron Delivers Blowout Earnings, AI Storage Market Strengthens Again

On June 25, Beijing time, memory chip leader Micron Technology released its fiscal Q3 2026 earnings report (for the period ending May 31, 2026).
The data in this report was astonishing, easily surpassing market expectations.
Following the release, Micron's stock surged over 16% in after-hours trading, also driving the entire U.S. chip and storage sector higher.

Single-quarter performance set new records across the board, with profitability far exceeding prior years. First, look at the core numbers: Micron's fiscal Q3 revenue reached $41.46 billion, up approximately 346% from $9.3 billion in the same period last year, far exceeding the $35.3 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
On the profit side, it was even more impressive. Adjusted earnings per share were $25.11, while analysts had expected only $20.28.

Gross margin hit 84.9%, a significant jump from 74.9% in the previous quarter. For context, gross margin in the same period last year was only 39%, more than doubling in just one year.
This marks the fifth consecutive quarter Micron has set a new revenue record. Micron not only delivered an outstanding report but also provided an optimistic outlook for the next quarter.
The company expects fiscal Q4 revenue between $49 billion and $51 billion, while the market had anticipated only around $43.2 billion.
Earnings per share guidance is $30 to $32, far exceeding the market's estimate of $24.46.

All four business segments grew, with AI data centers as the main growth driver. Micron's operations are divided into four segments, all posting year-over-year revenue increases, but the standout was the data center business.
Data Center Business
Its sales soared from $1.53 billion in the same period last year to $11.5 billion, an increase of over 667%.
Massive procurement of memory and SSDs by AI servers was the core reason for this segment's growth.
Beyond data centers, other businesses also performed well.

Cloud Storage Memory
Cloud storage memory revenue grew more than 300%, reaching $13.77 billion.
Major cloud providers continue to expand their computing power facilities, driving sustained demand for memory.

Mobile and Endpoint Device Business
Revenue from mobile and consumer segments grew over 250% year-over-year, reaching $11.52 billion.
Higher memory prices for devices boosted segment revenue.

Automotive and Embedded Storage
Memory sales in automotive and embedded applications more than tripled. The proliferation of smart cars opened up new incremental markets. Additionally, revenue from high-bandwidth memory (HBM) exceeded $1 billion for the second consecutive quarter.
Beyond strong sales, Micron's technology is also advancing.
The 12-layer version of HBM4 is ramping twice as fast as its predecessor HBM3E, and all HBM capacity for fiscal 2026 has already been fully booked by customers.

Industry Supply and Demand Status: Tight Supply to Persist for Several Years
Why is Micron performing so well? The answer is simple: AI.
Micron executives clearly assessed the industry's supply and demand situation during the earnings call.

1. Demand side still has significant room for growth
AI has become one of the most important growth drivers for the storage industry in decades. As training and inference demands for large models continue to rise, memory and storage are becoming increasingly valuable in data centers.

2. Supply side struggles to keep up with demand in the short term
Micron management stated that driven by sustained AI training and inference needs, the entire industry's HBM supply tightness will persist beyond 2027. Building new chip factories and advanced packaging lines requires long lead times.
The tight supply of memory chips is not expected to gradually ease until 2028. In other words, the supply-demand imbalance is unlikely to change over the next two to three years.

Signed 16 Long-Term Agreements, Locking in Large Future Orders
Against this backdrop, Micron has signed 16 long-term supply agreements with customers such as data center operators and automotive manufacturers, securing sales for the next three to five years.
The total value of these agreements is $22 billion.
More importantly, these agreements include mandatory commitments to purchase Micron chips.
Micron's CEO stated that once all these agreements are fulfilled, the company expects over half of its revenue to come from these strategic customers.
Micron's CFO also said these commitments give them enough confidence to make new investments.

Stock Surged After Hours, Driving the Entire Chip Sector
As soon as the earnings report was released, Micron's stock rose immediately in after-hours trading, surging over 16%.
More critically, Micron's rally lifted the entire U.S. chip sector.
Western Digital rose over 11% after hours, SanDisk over 10%, Seagate Technology over 8%.
ARM rose over 5%, Applied Materials over 4%, Intel, ASML, and AMD all rose over 3%.
Nasdaq 100 futures briefly surged over 2%.
It should be noted that Qualcomm also rose over 11% after hours, but its gain was unrelated to Micron's earnings.
Qualcomm held an Investor Day on the same day, announcing new progress in its data center business, driving its own stock up—this is its own story.

Risk Reminder: Be Objective About Market Risks
The storage sector has seen massive short-term gains. Investors should not only see the positives but also be aware of potential correction risks.
Before the earnings release, technical indicators for several storage stocks had entered overbought territory.
Year to date, SanDisk, Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate have risen approximately 800%, 320%, 285%, and 280%, respectively.
Most analysts' price targets for Micron are below its current real-time stock price, meaning the stock has run ahead of fundamental forecasts.
Amid the revelry, it's always wise to stay clear-headed.

Final Summary
Micron's blowout earnings report provides strong support for the long-term AI storage bull thesis.
In the short term, the supply-demand imbalance is unlikely to change quickly, keeping memory chip companies' profitability elevated.
From a long-term perspective, the AI industry is still in its early stages, and computing infrastructure buildout will continue to drive demand for memory and flash storage.
However, after this round of significant gains, sector valuations are already high. When participating in related investments, one should rationally assess volatility risks and avoid blindly chasing highs.$MU