Memory giant Micron (MU) will report its fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, giving investors insight into the state of the memory and artificial intelligence market. Micron’s fortunes, along with those of fellow memory chip makers Samsung (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (SKHY), have soared amid sky-high demand fueled by global AI development. For example, Micron’s third-quarter earnings per share soared 1,214% year over year, while its revenue soared 345%. The company’s share price has also skyrocketed, rising a staggering 279% so far this year and 587% in the past 12 months, through Tuesday. Micron shares rose 0.3% before the bell on Wednesday and ahead of its results. 1,065.08 +11.10 (+1.05%) At Close: September 29 at 4:00:00 pm EDT Micron is also making big bets on its future growth. In August, the company announced it would invest up to $10 billion over the next 10 years to build a “long-term, world-class research institution” in Boise, Idaho. While the rise of AI has been a boon for memory manufacturers, it is taking its toll on other sectors of the tech industry. Consumer electronics makers have raised the prices of their devices to offset the rising cost of memory and storage chips. Most recently, Apple (AAPL) increased prices for its iPhone 18 Pro line by $100 compared to its iPhone 17 Pro. While the price increases have reduced the number of devices manufacturers are selling, the higher prices have offset much of the negative impact on their bottom line. For the fourth quarter, Wall Street anticipates earnings per share of $31.83, according to Bloomberg analyst consensus estimates. That’s a 950% increase from the $3.03 EPS the company reported in the fourth quarter of last year. Revenue is expected to reach $51.49 billion, up 355% from the $11.31 billion the company earned in the prior-year quarter. DRAM, which is used in high-bandwidth memory used in data centers, is expected to generate $38.22 billion in sales, while NAND storage chips will generate $12.29 billion. Memory and chip stocks have been volatile in recent weeks amid concerns about AI safety, following Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call earlier this month to slow the development of cutting-edge AI models. Subscribe to Yahoo Finance’s Week in Tech newsletter. · Yahoo Finance Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley. Click here for the latest tech news impacting the stock market. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance.
