Micron Posts Record $54.2 Billion Quarter, Guides Higher as AI Memory Boom Rolls On

Micron Technology closed out a fiscal year unlike any in its history on Wednesday, reporting record fourth-quarter revenue of $54.23 billion, nearly four times what it booked a year ago, and telling investors the AI memory boom behind it has further to run.

A beat on every line that mattered

Revenue jumped to $54.23 billion from $11.32 billion a year earlier, ahead of the $51.33 billion FactSet consensus. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $33.42 a share against FactSet's $31.72 consensus.

The $33.42 print marked a seventh straight quarter of triple-digit earnings-per-share growth, up more than tenfold from $3.03 a year ago and 33.1% above the third quarter's $25.11. GAAP net income was $37.70 billion, or $32.87 per diluted share, against $3.2 billion and $2.83 a year earlier. Non-GAAP gross margin reached 87.0%, up from 45.7% a year ago. Operating cash flow was $43.97 billion, against $5.73 billion in the year-ago quarter, and adjusted free cash flow came in at $33.20 billion.

Guidance that clears an already high bar

Micron guided the current first quarter to adjusted earnings of $37.15 to $39.15 a share on revenue of $60 billion to $63 billion. The FactSet consensus sits at $35.47 a share on $57.4 billion in revenue.

The midpoints, $61.5 billion of revenue and $38.15 a share, sit about 7% above consensus on both lines. The bar was already elevated: the June guidance for the just-reported quarter was revenue of $50 billion plus or minus $1 billion, with non-GAAP gross margin of approximately 86% and non-GAAP EPS of $31 plus or minus $1, a revenue guide that landed $6.55 billion above the Wall Street consensus at the time it was issued. Micron beat even its own midpoints, on revenue by $4.2 billion and on earnings by $2.42 a share. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 a share, payable October 29 to shareholders of record October 14.

Mehrotra's pitch: memory for "Super Intelligence"

"Micron delivered record fiscal 2026 results, and we expect an even stronger fiscal 2027," Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra said. "AI is becoming Super Intelligence (SI), and memory enhances this intelligence and the competitiveness of our customers' platforms," he added.

The SI language is a direct echo of President Trump's preferred new term for artificial intelligence, the same rebrand at the center of TickerGrove's Sept. 29 coverage of the White House AI accord. Mehrotra also pointed to Micron's Strategic Customer Agreements, long-term demand contracts with hyperscalers, as added confidence in the durability of the company's financial performance.

Why it matters: the memory supercycle's duration debate

The engine is the data center. Core Data Center revenue was $18.00 billion, against $1.58 billion a year earlier, an elevenfold jump, and up from $11.52 billion in the third quarter. Cloud Memory added $16.28 billion; Mobile and Client $13.11 billion; Automotive and Embedded $6.82 billion.

The structural story is supply. Mehrotra has said Micron can meet only about half to two-thirds of demand from several key customers, a manufacturing constraint rather than a marketing claim, and the 86.8% GAAP gross margin, against 44.7% a year ago, shows what that constraint does to pricing power. Cash is piling up: $73.48 billion in cash and investments at year end, and $89.68 billion in operating cash flow for the full year against $17.53 billion the year before. Capital spending was $10.77 billion in the quarter and $27.37 billion for the year. Noncurrent customer contract liabilities stood at $12.9 billion, against $568 million in the third quarter, prepayments and commitments that speak to demand visibility. For the full fiscal year, revenue was $133.19 billion against $37.38 billion the prior year, with GAAP net income of $84.97 billion, or $74.33 per diluted share.

The market read: a beat that actually held

Investors have punished good-enough prints all week: Jabil beat and raised, then sold off as much as 8% as the move looked priced in. Micron broke the pattern, at least at first. IBD reported the stock edged 3 cents higher to $1,065 in the regular session, hitting a session high of $1,083.50. After the close it seesawed between small gains and losses, IBD reported, with a bid around $1,067. CNBC characterized the stock as edging higher in extended trading.

The open question, per Morgan Stanley's preview, is whether estimate hikes keep pace: duration debates take longer to pay off. The 4:30 p.m. ET conference call was expected to bring texture on HBM4, the Strategic Customer Agreements, and DRAM pricing into the November-ending first quarter. Second-day analyst revisions will show whether Wall Street believes the supercycle has another year in it.