Thus far in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, some of the biggest winners haven't been the developers of AI software but the hardware companies that produce the chips that AI needs to function.
Nvidia (NVDA 1.45%) is the prime example. Because of AI's demand for its graphics processing units (GPUs), it has become the most valuable company on the planet with a valuation of $4.2 trillion. It even briefly broke above $5 trillion late last year.
The company has already created an estimated 27,000 millionaires and likely stands to mint a few more. But it also begs the question of who's next?
And I believe I may have an answer for you.
Image source: Getty Images.
Thanks for the memories
Based in Boise, Idaho, Micron Technology (MU 2.99%) primarily makes memory hardware, which includes random access memory (RAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
Computers rely on RAM chips to store and recall data. AI needs it for the same reason; it just needs a lot more than the 8-32 gigabytes or so most laptops do these days.
AI needs so much RAM, in fact, that tech hardware magazine Tom's Hardware projects that data centers will consume 70% of all memory chips made this year, creating a critical memory shortage.
The shortage has already caused the cost of memory for smartphones to grow 10%-15% in 2026. And Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan recently said the memory problem was likely to continue for at least the next two years.
There's going to be a lot of money to be made by producing memory over the second half of the 2020s. Micron has prepared for it by ending its consumer-market RAM production and breaking ground on a gigantic factory near Syracuse, New York.
Micron has already seen its share price jump over 300% over the past 12 months because of it. Despite that, it's still trading at a bargain valuation relative to its competitors.
NASDAQ: MU
Key Data Points
Memory money
Micron has been on a growth tear lately. For the whole of its fiscal 2025 (ended Aug. 28, 2025) it brought in revenue of $37.4 billion, up 49% year over year. And for the full year it achieved a gross margin of 39%, an operating margin of 26%, and a net income margin of 22.8%.
And, as of the company's Q1 fiscal 2026 results (reported Dec. 17, 2025), that growth streak is set to continue through this year as well.
For the quarter, Micron recorded revenue of $13.6 billion, up 57% year over year. It grew its gross margin to 56.8%, its operating margin to 47%, and its net income margin to 40%.
But despite its growth and the company's 300% bull run, it still only trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.57. Its biggest competitor in terms of memory chips, Samsung, trades at a forward P/E ratio of 12.7. Nvidia, the biggest AI hardware producer, is trading at a forward P/E ratio of 24.34.
So, Micron appears to be one of the cheapest ways to play AI hardware. It's worth a look, and growth like it's demonstrating has serious millionaire-maker potential.
Anyone who held a $250,000 stake before the last year is already a millionaire, but I think Micron's growth streak is just getting started.
