MW Micron's stock climbs after upbeat guidance. Here's what's driving the momentum.

By Britney Nguyen

Micron is benefiting from better pricing for memory chips

Micron boosted various aspects of its guidance on Monday.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc. were up more than 6% shortly after Monday's open in the wake of upbeat guidance from the memory-chip maker.

Micron $(MU)$ announced Monday that it was raising guidance across a few metrics for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends Aug. 28. Now, Micron expects quarterly revenue of $11.2 billion, plus or minus $100 million, whereas it previously set revenue guidance at $10.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million.

The company is also feeling more upbeat about its profit potential, now targeting an adjusted gross margin of 44.5%, plus or minus 0.5%, up from a previous estimate of 42%, plus or minus 1%. Micron boosted its expectations for adjusted earnings per share as well, modeling $2.85, plus or minus 7 cents, versus the prior forecast of $2.50, plus or minus 15 cents.

The revision "reflects improved pricing," namely in dynamic random-access memory, "and strong execution," Micron said. The company should share more information about the drivers at a KeyBanc conference presentation that begins at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Mizuho desk-based analyst Jordan Klein wrote Monday that the move was "a clear slap in [the] face to all the bears" who expressed doubts about his bullish Micron stance.

At the same time, Micron slightly raised guidance for adjusted operating expenses to $1.22 billion, plus or minus $15 million, from $1.2 billion, plus or minus $20 million.

Micron's stock was among the top performers in the S&P 500 in June, and it delivered record May-quarter earnings results that it said were driven by demand for its high-bandwidth memory products, which are used in artificial intelligence chips. The company said it saw record sales of its DRAM chips, including a nearly 50% sequential increase in revenue for HBM - a specialized type of DRAM.

See more: Micron delivers record quarterly revenue, supporting investors' 'super-bullish' outlook

In July, the stock pulled back, but some analysts remained optimistic about long-term tailwinds for Micron tied to demand for AI chips and custom silicon.

Mizuho sell-side analysts said in a mid-July note to clients that Micron has an advantage from its next-generation HBM4 chips, which are expected to see 15% to 20% higher average selling prices due to larger die sizes, or the component of a memory chip that has memory circuitry.

The Mizuho team said that compared with conventional DRAM, HBM could drive about five times upside to average selling prices, "ultimately leading to better [gross margins] as yields improve and each node ramps to full capacity."

At the time, Mizuho said Micron looked "better positioned than peers" with its HBM4 chips, which were "performing well in early tests." The analysts also said they see Micron gaining share of the HBM market in 2026.

-Britney Nguyen

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August 11, 2025 09:58 ET (13:58 GMT)

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