Wall Street Upbeat on Micron Earnings as AI Demand Drives Strong Memory-Market Growth

The expansion of generative AI is fueling data-center construction and demand for memory chips including HBM and DRAM. Tight supplies have also put Micron Technology in the spotlight as a key part of the AI supply chain. Wall Street has even dubbed Micron “the next Nvidia,” reflecting expectations that memory-chip makers will benefit from spending on AI infrastructure.

According to reports as of July 20, 2026, Micron’s market capitalization surpassed $900 billion for the first time and briefly overtook Meta and Tesla in intraday trading. Labor talks at Samsung Electronics broke down during the same period, raising the risk of a strike that could disrupt chip production. The market expects any supply shortfall to widen further, potentially benefiting Micron.

Micron Technology is a leading global memory-chip manufacturer whose products include DRAM, NAND and high-bandwidth memory. As AI server expansion drives greater memory consumption and product prices rise, the market expects Micron to deliver continued growth in revenue, gross margin and earnings, making it a key gauge of demand for AI infrastructure.

As of July 20, 2026, Wedbush expected Micron's third-quarter results to beat market expectations. It reiterated its “Outperform” rating and sharply raised its price target to $1,300. Wedbush said improving memory pricing trends and strong demand from AI applications would continue to support Micron's revenue and earnings momentum.

Generative AI is fueling data-center expansion, while high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM have become key components in AI accelerators. Memory is consequently accounting for a rapidly growing share of hardware-system costs, signaling that industry value is spreading from computing chips to the memory supply chain. Micron is seen as a major beneficiary as it upgrades its product mix.

As of July 20, 2026, independent investment research firm Aletheia had revised its valuation approach to reflect this redistribution of value across AI hardware, sharply raising its Micron price target to $1,600 per share. Reports did not disclose the previous target or the exact date of the upgrade, but the new target underscores high expectations for long-term demand and profitability in advanced memory.

AI data centers are consuming large volumes of HBM and server DRAM, crowding out conventional memory production and turning DRAM into a bottleneck for computing-capacity expansion. NAND supplies are also tightening. Morgan Stanley said hyperscale cloud providers remain willing to pay premium prices to secure supply and that shortages could persist for two to three years. Price increases are also set to raise the cost of smartphones, PCs and cloud equipment.

In a June 3, 2026, report, Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore more than doubled his Micron price target to $1,050 from $520 and raised his SanDisk target to $1,750 from $1,100. The report said demand growth continues to outpace supply, with no sign of near-term relief, leaving significant room for further increases in both companies’ earnings forecasts and valuations.