Micron Technology delivered a stunning fiscal third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, posting revenue of $41.46 billion that represented a 74% sequential increase and a staggering 346% surge compared to the same period last year. The chipmaker's GAAP net income reached $28.24 billion, translating to $24.67 per diluted share, while gross margins climbed to an impressive 84.9%, up 10 percentage points from the prior quarter. The results far exceeded Wall Street expectations and sent Micron shares soaring 13.1% in after-hours trading.
The explosive growth was driven overwhelmingly by artificial intelligence demand, with the company's Core Data Center business unit, which includes high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators, generating $11.52 billion in revenue at an 87% gross margin. That figure represents a dramatic leap from just $1.53 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, the Cloud Memory business unit contributed $13.77 billion at an 83% gross margin, bringing combined data center revenue above $25 billion for the quarter.
Micron's results provided fresh reassurance that the AI investment cycle remains firmly intact, coming just two days after a sharp selloff rattled technology markets. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite had plunged 2.21% amid concerns about AI spending sustainability, while South Korea's KOSPI index crashed nearly 10% with Samsung and SK Hynix shares falling roughly 12%. The turnaround on Wednesday was swift, as Micron's blowout numbers reversed the bearish sentiment.
The broader market responded with enthusiasm on Wednesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.52%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65%, and the Nasdaq added 0.24%, with semiconductor and AI-related stocks leading the recovery. Bank of America analysts noted that Micron's performance confirmed the critical role of advanced memory in the AI infrastructure buildout and highlighted supply-side discipline across the industry.
Adding to investor confidence, Micron announced 16 multi-year supply agreements representing approximately $100 billion in minimum contracted revenue. These long-term deals underscore the sustained demand for high-bandwidth memory and other data center components as hyperscale cloud providers continue to expand their AI computing capacity at an unprecedented pace.
Looking ahead, Micron issued forward guidance that surpassed even the most optimistic projections, forecasting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $50 billion and earnings per share of roughly $31. The guidance suggests that the company's momentum is not only continuing but accelerating, with AI-driven demand showing no signs of plateauing.
Analysts across Wall Street described Micron's quarter as a watershed moment for the semiconductor sector, reinforcing the thesis that artificial intelligence infrastructure spending will remain elevated for years to come. The earnings report effectively silenced concerns about a potential slowdown in AI investment that had triggered the earlier-week selloff, positioning Micron as one of the primary beneficiaries of the ongoing technological transformation.
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