NEW YORK, March 19, 2026, 10:48 EDT
Shares of Micron Technology slipped Thursday, despite the company delivering record quarterly numbers and an upbeat outlook for sales. Investors zeroed in on a spike in factory spending, sending the stock down roughly 1.7% to $454.00 as of 10:33 a.m. EDT. It opened at $422.90 and bottomed out at $421.69 earlier in the session.
This reaction is notable, given that Micron shares had already jumped over 61% this year, on top of their 240% surge in 2025. The trio of Micron, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix dominate the world’s supply of high-bandwidth memory—HBM—which powers AI processors.
Investors are now trying to figure out if surging profits can keep pace with an even sharper climb in capital expenditures—capex, as the industry calls it—on fabs and new gear. Micron projected its fiscal 2026 capex will exceed $25 billion, bumping up by $5 billion from its earlier estimate. The main culprit: Tongluo in Taiwan, which will drive most of the hike, with U.S. fab spending also pushing totals higher. The company expects capex to climb further in 2027.
Micron delivered fiscal Q2 revenue of $23.86 billion, with adjusted EPS coming in at $12.20. The company’s outlook for Q3 revenue landed at $33.5 billion, plus or minus $750 million—blowing past the Street’s average call for $24.29 billion—and projected adjusted earnings of $19.15 per share. Cash generated after capital spending reached $6.9 billion. The quarterly dividend jumps 30% to 15 cents.
“Memory has become a strategic asset” for customers in the AI age, Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said. CFO Mark Murphy noted the quarter closed with “the highest net cash position” Micron has ever reported. And as Chief Business Officer Sumit Sadana put it to Reuters, “construction activity is really driving” the surge in spending. Micron Technology
Micron expects supply-demand constraints for its core memory and storage products to persist past calendar 2026. The company is ramping up capacity in Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Singapore, and India to keep up.
Some investors worry Micron could be ramping up spending just as the cycle turns. Mike O’Rourke at JonesTrading said the bigger budget “reinforces the belief” the shortage might not last—new supply could flip the balance. Still, Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies thinks the move “makes sense” as long as demand keeps up at this clip. Reuters
Thursday saw another drop in an already shaky market. With oil sticking close to $112 a barrel and the Federal Reserve sending out careful signals on rates, Wall Street’s main indexes slipped. Traders haven’t hesitated to hit high-spending growth stocks hard, given the backdrop. Micron, though, is still well ahead for the year, even after the latest retreat.
Related articles: NASDAQ:MU
