After facing valuation pressures in July, Micron (MU -1.61%) stock came bounding back in August's trading. The company's share price rose 16.5% in the month, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 3.9%.
August saw rebound trading for Micron and the broader artificial intelligence (AI) hardware market, with strong quarterly results from Nvidia helping to spur valuation recovery in the space. As of this writing, Micron stock is up roughly 256% year to date -- but it's also still down 16% from its high.
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Nvidia's quarterly report was a green flag for Micron stock
When it comes to the AI hardware space, no company is a more important bellwether than Nvidia. The graphics processing unit (GPU) leader reported its Q2 results after the market closed on Aug. 26 and posted sales and earnings that surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The business posted non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $2.22 on revenue of $96.22 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.10 per share on revenue of $92.17 billion.
Even better, Nvidia guided for roughly 70% annual revenue growth in the next fiscal year. For reference, the average analyst estimate targeted only 44% annual sales growth for the year. Micron provides memory chips that are used as components in Nvidia's AI processors, so the strong demand outlook for Nvidia's processors bodes well for Micron.
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What's next for Micron?
After the market closes on Sept. 30, Micron is scheduled to release its fiscal fourth-quarter report and host an investor conference call. The fourth quarter of the company's last fiscal year ended on Sept. 3.
Micron's fiscal Q4 release sets up the next big test for the stock -- and for valuations in the AI hardware market at large. As a leading provider of memory chips to support AI applications, Micron has become one of the most important companies when it comes to shaping overall momentum for artificial intelligence chip and infrastructure stocks.
With its last quarterly report, Micron said that it expected revenue of roughly $50 billion in the current quarter. Given the very strong demand backdrop for high-performance memory chips, there seems to be a good chance that the company will significantly exceed that target.
Additionally, the company's forward guidance will likely also look quite strong -- but expectations are very high heading into the report. There's a risk that Micron stock could fall in the short term even if the company issues guidance for this year that significantly exceeds the average analyst targets. Micron is a great company that is providing crucial components that support the AI revolution, but the unprecedented nature of the trends currently shaping its performance makes its outlook over the long term more difficult to model.
