Shares of Micron Technology Inc. rose in Thursday’s extended session after the memory chip maker’s earnings confirmed the industry was turning a corner.
Micron’s MU,
results and forecasts exceeded Wall Street estimates, and shares rose 1.8% after hours, after rising 2.6% to close at $ 79.11 in the regular session.
Micron reported fiscal revenue in the first quarter of $ 803 million, or 71 cents a share, compared to $ 491 million, or 43 cents a share, in the previous year. Adjusted earnings, which exclude stock-based compensation items and other items, were 78 cents per share, compared to 48 cents per share a year ago.
Revenue rose to $ 5.77 billion from $ 5.14 billion last quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share on revenue of $ 5.66 billion.
DRAM sales accounted for 70 percent of revenue, the company said. Computing and network sales rose 29% to $ 2.55 billion, while mobile device sales rose 3% to $ 1.5 billion in revenue for the quarter.
Micron expects second-quarter adjusted earnings of 68 cents to 82 cents a share from $ 5.6 billion to $ 6 billion in revenue, while analysts forecast earnings of 67 cents a share on revenues of $ 5.55 billion.
“We are excited to strengthen the fundamentals of the DRAM industry,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron. “For the first time in our history, Micron is simultaneously driving 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 smart.”
Micron specializes in DRAM and NAND memory chips. DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, is the type of memory commonly used in PCs and servers, while NAND chips are flash memory chips used in USB drives and smaller devices, such as digital cameras.
In the last 12 months, Micron shares have gained 36%, compared to a 57% increase in the PHLX Semiconductor SOX Index,
an increase of 18% with the S&P 500 SPX index,
and a 44% increase by the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,