Not All AI Stocks Are Tumbling: Micron Soars on Blockbuster Earnings

While the AI stock frenzy shows its first real cracks, one chipmaker is defying gravity.

The Memory Giant's Surprise Rally

Micron just delivered a financial report that sent its stock screaming higher. Forget the broader sector's wobbles—this is about pure, unadulterated demand for the high-bandwidth memory that's become the lifeblood of artificial intelligence. The numbers didn't just beat expectations; they shattered them, proving that when you're sitting on the right piece of silicon, you can print money even when others are sweating.

Where the Real Money Is Flowing

It's a classic case of separating the hype from the hardware. While software and service plays get re-rated daily, the companies making the physical guts of the AI revolution are cashing checks. Micron's surge highlights a brutal truth for investors: in a gold rush, sometimes the surest bet isn't the prospector, but the guy selling the shovels—or in this case, the ultra-fast memory modules every large language model desperately needs to function.

The takeaway? The AI trade isn't dead; it's just getting brutally selective. And as one analyst quipped, watching this unfold is almost as entertaining as seeing a hedge fund manager try to explain a sudden portfolio dip—plenty of hand-waving, but the numbers don't lie.

Key Takeaways

• Micron Technology posted earnings that topped analysts' estimates, sending shares higher in extended trading Wednesday. 
• CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said growing AI demand drove record results for the memory chipmaker and Nvidia supplier.

Worries about an AI bubble have weighed on the tech sector lately. Micron is still riding the AI boom higher.

Shares of the memory chip Maker were up over 5% in extended trading Wednesday after the company posted earnings that blew past analysts' estimates, driven by growing demand for AI hardware.

Micron Technology (MU) posted adjusted earnings per share of $4.78 for the fiscal first quarter, well above the $3.96 analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for. Its revenue jumped nearly 60% year-over-year to a record $13.64 billion, also exceeding expectations.

Why This Matters to Investors

As a supplier for leading AI chipmakers including Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, Micron has seen strong momentum in its data center business this year, helping it earn a reputation as a winning "pick-and-shovel" play for the AI trade.

"Micron delivered record revenue and significant margin expansion at the company level and also in each of our business units,” said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, who called the company an "essential AI enabler."

Micron projected adjusted earnings per share of $8.22 to $8.62 on revenue of $18.3 billion to $19.1 billion for the second quarter, well ahead of consensus estimates.

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Micron's stock, though well off record highs seen earlier this month, has largely avoided the worst of the recent slump in the AI sector. It's continued to benefit from a shortage in the memory market, supporting stronger pricing and higher margins. Micron's GAAP gross margin jumped to 56% in the first quarter, up from around 38% a year earlier, with the company saying it expects that to climb as high as 68% in the current quarter.

Shares of Micron have nearly tripled in value in 2025 through Wednesday's close, making it one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 for the year.