Micron forecasts revenue above estimates on AI-driven memory chip demand

[SAN FRANCISCO] Micron Technology forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday (Jun 25), betting on robust demand for its memory chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware in data centres.

Shares of the memory chipmaker rose 4.3 per cent in extended trading.

Micron said third-quarter sales of its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips rose 50 per cent from the previous three months, and that it will continue to invest to meet demand.

The results and the investment plans signal rise in demand for AI chips such as those from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, both of which use Micron’s memory chips.

Many cloud companies such as Google have committed large investments this year on AI infrastructure expansion, which underscores strong demand for AI-related products.

Micron is one of the three providers of high-bandwidth memory chips, besides South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung.

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In April, Micron introduced a new business segment, called “cloud memory business unit”, which will focus on products used by hyperscalers, as well as HBM chips that help perform data-intensive AI tasks quickly.

Micron said it expects fourth-quarter revenue of US$10.7 billion, plus or minus US$300 million, compared with analysts’ average estimate of US$9.88 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company expects an adjusted gross margin of about 42 per cent, plus or minus 1 per cent. Analysts on average expect an adjusted gross margin of 39.15 per cent.

For the third quarter, Micron reported revenue of US$9.30 billion, compared with estimates of US$8.87 billion.

Excluding items, earnings per share stood at US$1.91, above analysts’ average estimate of US$1.60 per share. REUTERS