New York, Jan 30, 2026, 16:05 (EST) — After-hours.
Micron Technology (MU.O) shares fell 4.8% to $414.83 in after-hours trading on Friday, after a volatile session that saw the stock swing between $407.26 and $457.21. About 49.3 million shares changed hands.
The dip tracked a broader risk-off tone after Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve, with investors also digesting a high inflation reading. “Markets are calibrating” to the pick and the outlook for monetary policy, Michael Hans of Citizens Wealth said; the S&P 500 fell 0.43% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.94%. (Reuters)
For Micron, the bigger tug-of-war is still in memory pricing. Apple warned that rising memory-chip prices were starting to pressure profitability, and Tim Cook told analysts “market pricing for memory” was “increasing significantly.” That same squeeze is tied to high-bandwidth memory (HBM) — stacked DRAM used to feed AI processors — pulling capacity toward AI servers and away from conventional chips for phones and PCs; IDC and Counterpoint Research now expect global smartphone sales to shrink at least 2% this year, while IDC sees the PC market down at least 4.9% in 2026. Macquarie Equity Research put last year’s HBM market at 61% for SK hynix, 19% for Samsung and 20% for Micron. (Reuters)
In Samsung Electronics’s latest readout, the shortage looks set to linger. A Samsung memory executive said: “A significant shortage of memory products across the board is expected to continue for the time being,” while the company said it planned to ship HBM4 chips in February at the request of a “major customer,” a reference analysts took to mean Nvidia. Tobey Gonnerman of Fusion Worldwide said suppliers “can’t possibly fill it all,” adding they are “in the enviable position of being able to dictate price.” (Reuters)
Micron, which makes NAND — the flash memory used in storage — said earlier this week it broke ground on an advanced wafer fabrication plant in Singapore, a planned investment of about $24 billion over 10 years. The company said wafer output is scheduled to start in the second half of 2028 and its previously announced HBM advanced packaging facility at the same site is on track to add meaningful supply in 2027. (Micron Technology)
The selloff also comes after a fast run. Chip shares jumped on Wednesday after the Fed held rates steady at 3.5%-3.75%; Micron rose 6% and Nvidia gained 1.6%, helped by upbeat read-throughs from SK hynix and ASML. (Reuters)
But higher memory prices cut both ways. They can lift suppliers’ margins, but they also squeeze phone and PC makers and can push buyers to trim orders or rework products around less memory.
Micron’s capacity adds are years out, and the stock has been trading like a rate-sensitive proxy for the AI supply chain. If the expected supply tightness eases faster than the market assumes — or if rates stay higher for longer — the setup can flip quickly.
Next on the calendar is Feb. 11, when Micron executives are due to speak at Wolfe Research’
s Auto, Auto Tech and Semiconductor Conference in New York at 8:50 a.m. EST (6:50 a.m. Mountain time), the company said. (Micron Technology)
