Bill 'Latency Lord' Brennan
Fundamental Growth Investor, B2B/Sector Leaders & Picks-and-Shovels
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's margins look obvious to stay very elevated in the short term, with longer-term contracts helping a bit, though the key question of its terminal margins remains unanswered. Its sales were always likely to skyrocket and the margin story has been crazy. The lean is bullish, as it has been for a while, but memory is not an industry to be involved in right now. x.com
Micron sits firmly in the too-hard pile because there is no clear view of what its earnings will look like three to five years from now. Memory stocks are simply not a fit here, with no criticism of memory investors. 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 looks very cheap because the market underestimates how sustainable its earnings will be over the next few years. x.com
Micron faces a severe crash risk from CXMT's current threat and apparent investor complacency after a euphoric high. If the Wall St Cheat Sheet fits, most of Micron's gains across 40 years, amassed in just one year, could be erased soon. Earlier, Elon Musk said Micron had been reasonable on future memory prices; memory stocks were not yet to be faded. x.com x.com
Micron looks expensive on price-to-book at about 8x versus a historical average of about 2x, and relying on forward P/E for such a cyclical business can be dangerous. 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'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's upside is now capped while its downside remains, because its long-term agreements will be meaningless if the memory cycle turns. In hard times, even bona fide take-or-pay contracts get challenged through material adverse change clauses, so the agreements offer little protection. Memory's shareholder base is also turning over from fast money chasing pricing and revisions to growth-at-a-reasonable-price investors, who do not believe the earnings are sustainable. 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 is a cyclical, and if DRAM sells at cash cost at any point in the next 15 years, which is likely over that span, owners will be in deep trouble. The historical playbook is to buy memory when it looks bleak and sell when it looks rosy. When take-or-pay contracts showed up in past industries, prices often fell within 18 months and the stocks dropped as spot prices fell. @BeenThereCap counters that Micron is on pace to earn its market cap in cash within eight years. x.com x.com x.com x.com
