Micron (MU +2.89%) stock is moving lower in Wednesday's trading despite bullish momentum for the broader market. The company's share price was down 3.5% as of 2:20 p.m. ET. At the same point in the daily session, the S&P 500 was up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.1%. Micron had been down as much as 5.7% earlier in the day.
Despite many tech and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks posting big gains in today's session, Micron's valuation is under pressure. The company's sell-off appears to be connected to the quarterly results of another major semiconductor player.
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Micron moves lower following ASML's earnings
ASML is the world's leading provider of extreme-ultraviolet-lithography (EUV) and deep-ultraviolet-lithography (DUV) machines used in the fabrication of advanced chips. In particular, the creation of Micron's most advanced high-bandwidth-memory (HBM) chips has been relying on EUV machines. As a result, ASML's quarterly reports and business updates can sometimes be a useful bellwether for Micron.
Despite ASML posting better-than-expected first-quarter results, the performance didn't come in as strong as some investors expected -- and concerns about export restrictions to China are also weighing on its valuation. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment company's Q1 report is causing a significant pullback for its own stock and Micron's.
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What do ASML's Q1 results mean for Micron?
ASML posted a per-share profit of 7.15 euros on revenue of $8.77 billion in the first quarter, eclipsing the average analyst estimate's call for a per-share profit of 6.61 euros on sales of 8.66 billion euros in the period. In addition to posting Q1 sales and earnings beats, ASML also raised its full-year revenue target to between 36 billion euros and 40 billion euros. Previously, the company had guided for sales to be between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros this year.
While some investors may have been looking for even stronger forward guidance, ASML's outlook for 2026 does not appear to be a major bearish indicator for Micron. The memory-chip specialist trades at a growth-dependent valuation, but the reaction to ASML's earnings and guidance could be overdone.
