New York, January 6, 2026, 10:23 EST — Regular session
- Micron Technology, Inc. shares rise 7.7% as the latest memory-chip rally extends into Tuesday’s session
- Traders point to tight supply and firming price expectations tied to AI server demand
- Focus shifts to pricing signals and Micron’s next earnings update, expected in mid-March
Micron Technology, Inc. shares rose 7.7% to $336.11 in mid-morning trade on Tuesday, extending a sharp early-year run for MU stock. The stock hit an intraday high of $336.31 after closing at $312.15 in the prior session.
The jump kept attention on the memory market, where suppliers are warning that demand from artificial intelligence data centers is outrunning capacity. Samsung Electronics co-CEO TM Roh called the shortage “unprecedented” in an interview with Reuters, and Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra has said constraints could stretch beyond 2026 as chipmakers steer capacity toward high-bandwidth memory, or HBM — a stacked form of DRAM used in AI servers. TrendForce estimates prices in some memory segments have more than doubled since February last year, Reuters reported. 1
Counterpoint Research forecasts memory prices could rise another 40% through the second quarter, Investopedia reported, reinforcing a trade that has lifted Micron alongside other hardware-linked chip names. Micron’s core products include DRAM (dynamic random-access memory used as working memory) and NAND flash (used for storage), and pricing tends to be a key swing factor for profits in the sector. 2
Wall Street has been marking up expectations for Micron’s fiscal 2026, which ends in August, with FactSet data pointing to about 93% revenue growth, MarketWatch reported. Despite last year’s big run, MU trades around 9.2 times expected earnings — the forward price-to-earnings ratio, a valuation measure based on forecast profits — the report added. 3
Micron last updated investors on Dec. 17, when it posted fiscal first-quarter revenue of $13.64 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.78. “Our Q2 outlook reflects substantial records across revenue, gross margin, EPS and free cash flow,” Mehrotra said, as Micron guided to second-quarter revenue of $18.7 billion plus or minus $400 million and adjusted EPS of $8.42 plus or minus $0.20. 4
Traders said the rally is increasingly sensitive to any signal that supply is loosening, from capacity plans at Samsung and SK Hynix to shifts in demand for PCs and smartphones. The market has also been watching whether higher contract prices — the negotiated rates large buyers pay suppliers — keep flowing through into chipmaker margins.
The risk is that high prices draw more supply into the market faster than expected, or that weaker demand forces customers to pare orders and work down inventory. Memory has a history of sharp booms and abrupt reversals when the cycle turns.
