Micron looks very cheap because the market underestimates how sustainable its earnings will be over the next few years. x.com
Andres Cardenal
CFA, Economist & Financial Analyst, Investment Columnist
Micron's latest report was excellent, and the market underestimates the demand boom AI agents and robots will bring over the next three to five years. Memory will always be cyclical, but structural industry changes are making the cycle much longer, with higher peaks and troughs than in the past. x.com x.com x.com
Micron's sold-out high-bandwidth memory through 2027+ and contracts already being signed for 2029-2030+ extend its earnings runway. At 5x forward earnings, it is cheaper than a year ago; its private Anthropic stake is about to be instantly rerated at Anthropic's IPO, and a new share buyback is expected to be announced Dec. 9. Micron could certainly gain 30% in three months. x.com x.com
Micron's memory leadership remains intact because it is sold out into 2027. A red day does not change those fundamentals; anyone arguing it has topped must identify which part of demand breaks and when. x.com
Micron's projections are set so high that even great years may not be enough to meet them. Samsung's Q3 results show the risk: revenue of $145.6B missed the $150.7B estimate, and operating profit of $80.2B missed $81.1B. x.com
Micron can't meet customer demand, giving it rare visibility at a valuation of about 5x next year's earnings. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said customers are extending agreements into 2031, which gives certainty of demand and lets Micron plan capacity investments with confidence. The stock is now about $1,000, and with potential EPS beats over the next few quarters its forward P/E could be around 5, unthinkable about six months ago. x.com x.com
Micron trades at 7x forward earnings, below its 11x 10-year median, because the market is pricing a cycle peak that does not look close. Revenue of $54.2B beat the $50.5B expected, and guidance of $61.5B topped $56.8B. Over 75% of 2027 output is contracted, customer agreements rose to 26 from 16, and management expects worse shortages in 2027-28; price bands on most contract revenue set a floor and cap upside. Consensus FY2027 FCF of $117B, a 9.8% yield, exceeds higher capex. x.com
Micron is too risky to own long term because memory is one of the most cyclical parts of the AI trade. Its margins are hard to forecast, so memory, like neoclouds, deserves a low multiple until it proves it can run a sustainable business through cycles, despite immense upside. Micron belongs in the too-hard pile: worth swing trading at opportune times, not holding long term or in real size. x.com x.com
Micron appears to be projecting a very large price increase, great news for Micron and bad news for buyers such as Oracle, CoreWeave, Nebius, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon. Micron said it expects higher gross margins beyond fiscal Q1 for the rest of fiscal 2027, as quoted by @pequityresearch. The Fed has said AI cost increases are passing through to consumer prices, and Treasury yields jumped 0.03% as Micron's earnings hit; AI costs are set to send yields and inflation higher. x.com x.com
Micron's revenue grew faster than its stock over the past year, leaving it cheaper on trailing earnings. Quarterly revenue rose from $11.3B to $54.2B, while the stock rose from about $198 to $878 and trailing P/E fell from roughly 24x to 11.6x. x.com
If Micron has only two years of decent forecasts, its limited visibility warrants a lower multiple, not a higher one. x.com
Micron's surging memory revenue points to a supercycle. Its segment and NAND revenue charts show a sharp recent acceleration, while the stock tests its rising 30-week average. x.com