Micron Briefly Tops Meta, Tesla at $1.27 Trillion as AI Memory Crunch Fuels 236% Stock Surge
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 28
Micron Briefly Tops Meta, Tesla at $1.27 Trillion as AI Memory Crunch Fuels 236% Stock Surge
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 28
Summary
Micron briefly overtook Meta and Tesla in market value on Thursday after a blistering rally, then closed Friday near $1.27 trillion, versus Meta at $1.39 trillion and Tesla at $1.42 trillion.
A 236% one-month stock surge to $1,132 a share has been driven by an AI-led shortage of DRAM, NAND and especially HBM memory, as data-center builders buy far more chips per server than traditional devices require.
Third-quarter results reinforced the move: revenue quadrupled year over year to $41.45 billion, profit jumped to $28.2 billion from $1.88 billion, and Micron forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $49 billion to $51 billion.
Micron argues the boom can last longer than past memory cycles because supply remains tight into 2027 and because 16 long-term customer agreements—including with Nvidia and Anthropic—should improve revenue visibility.
The rally still hinges on whether memory makers can avoid their usual boom-bust pattern once new capacity arrives, even as the current shortage is already pushing up prices for consumer electronics.
Beyond stock prices, what are the hidden energy costs of the AI memory shortage?
As AI devours memory chips, will everyday electronics become unaffordable luxury items?
With HBM's high costs and flaws, could a new technology burst the AI memory bubble?
Micron’s Meteoric Rise: Navigating the AI Memory Supercycle and a Projected $70–80 Billion Revenue Surge by 2026
Overview
Micron Technology is experiencing a remarkable surge as demand for memory chips, driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, continues to escalate. This has led to a major shift in global memory chip consumption, with AI data centers expected to use 70% of all memory chips by 2026. The market is facing ongoing supply shortages, and customers do not expect these to ease until at least 2028. As a result, Micron is benefiting from a sustained period of high demand and limited supply, positioning the company for strong performance while it actively expands its high-bandwidth memory product portfolio to meet evolving needs.