Memory Stocks Surge: Can Micron Hit New Highs After Earnings?
Title: Micron Earnings: The "Beat and Raise" is Priced In. The Question is Guidance.
Micron is up 190% YTD. The entire street knows Q3 will beat. The only thing that matters on Dec 17 is Fiscal Q4 and 2026 guidance.
Can it hit new highs?
It will come down to one word: sustainability.
· Bull Case (New Highs): Micron guides for continued strong pricing power and demand into 2026, citing AI server buildouts (HBM) and a recovering PC/phone market. They signal that the memory cycle has "flattened the curve," moving away from violent boom-bust cycles. This could spark another leg up.
· Bear Case (Sell-the-News): The beat is modest, and guidance is merely "in-line" or shows signs of customer inventory digestion. After a 190% run, even perfect results could trigger profit-taking. The risk is that the HBM euphoria is fully priced, and the more cyclical legacy DRAM/NAND businesses are overlooked.
Long-Term Outlook:
I am a long-term believer. The structural shift is real: AI is turning memory from a commodity into a critical, high-performance component. Micron's HBM3E and HBM4 roadmap are competitive. However, the stock is no longer a hidden gem; it's a consensus long. New money should wait for either a post-earnings dip or clear guidance that supports a higher plateau for earnings.
Vote: A beat is likely, but new highs post-earnings depend 100% on visionary guidance.
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