Micron Technology (MU 2.77%) has been a winning stock in recent times thanks to its key role in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. The company's shares have soared more than 300% over the past year as customers rush to Micron's memory and storage products.
The company confirmed this trend in the latest quarter, with AI demand fueling record revenue and free cash flow. And Micron expects the momentum to continue.
Now the key question is: Will stock performance follow? Analysts expect the shares to decline by about 4% from their level as of the March 2 market close over the coming 12 months. But I think Wall Street is wrong about this top AI player. Here's why.
Image source: Getty Images.
The need for memory
As mentioned, Micron offers something that is in great need today and should continue to be a necessity in the future: memory. AI workloads will require plenty of it as the AI story shifts into the phase of inference, or the actual process AI goes through to solve complex problems.
Today, cloud companies are building out their infrastructure to meet current and future demand from customers that need training, inference power, and more. And this should equal demand for Micron's products over the coming years. AI chip giant Nvidia has predicted that AI infrastructure spending could reach $4 trillion by the end of the decade. That could be good news for Micron.
As mentioned, in the latest quarter Micron's revenue jumped more than 56% to $13 billion -- and the company predicts more growth in the coming quarter, with a forecast of more than $18 billion in revenue. Micron also expects gross margin of 67%, showing high profitability on sales.
NASDAQ: MU
Key Data Points
More records on the horizon?
"We anticipate substantial new records in revenue, gross margin, EPS, and free cash flow for both the second quarter and the full fiscal year 2026," the company said in its earnings presentation.
Of course, supply constraints could weigh on growth to some degree. For example, the company said it may meet only half to two-thirds of midterm demand from certain major customers. But I see this as a temporary problem and one that doesn't change the overall positive story.
On top of the earnings strength, investors may also like Micron's price tag these days. The stock trades at about 12x forward earnings estimates, a very reasonable price for a company well-positioned to benefit from the long-term AI growth story.
As I mentioned above, Wall Street doesn't expect much movement from Micron shares over the coming 12 months. But I think that view is too pessimistic considering the company's momentum so far and the ongoing demand for memory. Instead, Micron may have what it takes to deliver a winning year in 2026.
