What You Need To Know Ahead of Micron’s Earnings Report Wednesday.

What You Need To Know Ahead of Micron’s Earnings Report Wednesday

Key Takeaways

  • Micron Technology is set to report earnings for its fiscal second quarter of 2024 on Wednesday after the closing bell.
  • Micron’s revenue is expected to show growth from the previous year as well as narrowing losses in its net income and earnings per share.
  • Analysts expect an increase in dynamic random access memory revenue to help narrow losses.
  • The company could also provide more details about the chips it’s producing for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence graphic processing units. 

Micron Technology (MU) is set to announce its second-quarter earnings for the 2024 fiscal year after the bell on Wednesday, with analysts expecting an increase in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) revenue helping narrow losses, as well as additional details about the chips it's producing for Nvidia’s (NVDA) artificial intelligence (AI) graphic processing units (GPUs).

Analysts project Micron’s revenue to come in at $5.34 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, up from the previous quarter and the same period in 2023, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

With the anticipated revenue gains, the company is projected to report a loss of $249 million or 24 cents per share, narrowing from a loss of $2.08 billion or $1.91 per share in the same period a year earlier. Both figures would be consistent with the company's guidance for the quarter.

Key Metrics: DRAM Revenue Growth

Micron will provide DRAM revenue for the quarter with investors looking for growth in the segment.

TrendForce reported revenue across the DRAM industry grew in the fourth quarter of 2023 "propelled by revitalized stockpiling efforts and strategic production control by leading manufacturers."

The firm estimated that Micron captured 19.2% of market share during that period, making it the third-largest DRAM manufacturer behind Samsung and SK Hynix.

The DRAM industry is expected to grow "with a projected near 20% increase in DRAM contract prices," according to TrendForce.

Wedbush analysts project DRAM revenue for the second quarter of $3.9 billion, up from $3.43 billion the quarter prior and $2.72 billion in the second quarter of 2023.

Since nearly three-quarters (73%) of Micron’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was from DRAM, increased DRAM revenue would help support narrowing losses for the company.

Business Spotlight: Update on Memory Chip Shipments for Nvidia

Micron is expected to provide more details about the high-bandwidth memory chips that it is producing for Nvidia’s AI GPUs.

The company announced that it began mass production of the 24-gigabyte 8H High Bandwidth Memory 3E (HBM3E), a DRAM solution, for Nvidia at the end of February. It said that the chips are to ship in the second quarter.

On a previous earnings call, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said the company expects to generate "several hundred millions of dollars of HBM revenue in fiscal 2024" with growth to continue into 2025.

With Micron delivering the HBM3E chip to Nvidia, Goldman Sachs analysts said the company could scale to other customers.

The Goldman analysts said that they "believe there is significant scope for Micron to deepen its engagements with Nvidia (i.e. higher market share in future GPU platforms) and broadening its customer base beyond Nvidia."

Micron could benefit from its position within Nvidia's AI ecosystem, as the chipmaker has established itself as a leading benefactor amid the AI boom.

Shares of Micron were up 0.5% at $94.49 about an hour after Wednesday's opening bell. The stock, which has gained 64% over the past 12 months, reached a record high earlier this month as analysts highlighted the company's position amid the AI boom.

UPDATE—March 20, 2024: This article has been updated after initial publication to include the latest estimates from analysts and recent share price information.

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