Micron Technology Inc.’s shares rose in Thursday’s extended session after the memory chip maker’s profits confirmed that the industry is turning a corner.
MU from Micron,
results and forecasts surpassed Wall Street estimates, and stocks rose 1.8% after hours, after a 2.6% increase, closing at $ 79.11 in the regular session.
Micron reported a fiscal net profit of $ 803 million in the first quarter, or 71 cents per share, compared with $ 491 million, or 43 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings, which exclude compensation expenses based on shares and other items, were 78 cents per share, compared to 48 cents per share in the same period last year.
Revenue increased to $ 5.77 billion, from $ 5.14 billion in the same quarter last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted adjusted earnings of 68 cents a share on revenue of $ 5.66 billion.
DRAM sales accounted for 70% of revenue, the company said. Computer and network sales increased 29% to $ 2.55 billion, while cell phone sales increased 3% to $ 1.5 billion in revenue in the quarter.
Micron expects adjusted earnings in the second fiscal quarter of 68 cents to 82 cents a share on revenue of $ 5.6 billion to $ 6 billion, while analysts predicted earnings of 67 cents per share on revenue of $ 5, 55 billion.
“We are excited about strengthening the fundamentals of the DRAM industry,” said Micron Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra. “For the first time in our history, Micron is simultaneously leading DRAM and NAND technologies, and we are in an excellent position to benefit from accelerating the digital transformation of the global economy powered by AI, 5G, cloud and the smart edge.”
Micron specializes in DRAM and NAND memory chips. DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, is the type of memory commonly used on PCs and servers, while NAND chips are the flash memory chips used in USB drives and smaller devices such as digital cameras.
In the past 12 months, Micron shares have gained 36%, compared to a 57% increase in the PHLX Semiconductor SOX index,
an increase of 18% by the S&P 500 SPX index,
and a 44% gain by the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,