Micron shares surge 18% as blockbuster forecast reignites AI trade

The AI trade roared back to life on Thursday, led by Micron Technology, whose shares surged as much as 18% after the memory chipmaker delivered a blockbuster earnings report and an even stronger outlook.

The stock opened at $1,233, up 17.6% from its previous close of $1,048.51, and touched a fresh 52-week high of $1,255 in early trade.

The rally came after Micron reported record revenue, record gross margin and record earnings for its fiscal third quarter, comfortably beating Wall Street expectations. More importantly for investors, the company signalled that demand linked to artificial intelligence remains far from slowing.

Revenue came in at $41.5 billion, while adjusted earnings reached $25.11 per share. Gross margin climbed to 84.9%, more than double the level seen a year earlier and the highest in the company's modern history. Micron expects margins to improve further to around 86% in the current quarter.

Long-term AI demand in focus

Beyond the headline numbers, investors were encouraged by Micron's disclosure that it has signed 16 strategic customer agreements aimed at securing memory supply over multiple years.

The company said 14 of those agreements represent roughly $100 billion in minimum contracted revenue over their remaining term and include take-or-pay commitments, under which customers must either purchase agreed volumes or pay regardless.

The contracts suggest that AI customers are increasingly treating advanced memory chips as a critical bottleneck and are willing to lock in supply years in advance.

The results also triggered a broader rally across AI and memory-related stocks. Sandisk gained around 16% in pre-market trading, while Western Digital rose 15% and Seagate Technology climbed 11%. Nvidia added about 1%, while Advanced Micro Devices advanced 4%.

Following the results, analysts at Wedbush and Citi raised their price targets on Micron to $1,400, arguing that the company's long-term contracts could provide an unprecedented level of revenue and earnings visibility in the years ahead.