Latest Trending
Last Updated, Sep 29, 2021, 4:57 PM
Micron Hasn’t Memory-Holed the Chip Shortage Just Yet


Micron’s fiscal first-quarter revenue forecast was almost 11% below Wall Street’s prediction.



Photo:

Jeremy Erickson/Bloomberg News

As surprises go,

Micron Technology’s


MU -0.78%

disappointing projection hardly qualifies.

The maker of memory chips posted relatively strong results for its fiscal fourth quarter late Tuesday. But its projection of $7.65 billion in revenue for its first quarter ending in November was nearly 11% short of Wall Street’s official forecast, as reflected by consensus projections on FactSet. Yet several analysts had been predicting a shortfall, and the market has been dim on Micron anyway given the cyclical nature of the memory business. Micron’s share price had fallen nearly 16% over the past six months before Tuesday’s report—making it one of the weakest performers in the chip market.

The question now is whether all the bad news is out. Micron’s shares slipped another 2% Wednesday morning. The company conceded on its earnings call Tuesday that PC makers in particular are starting to cut back on memory orders, as shortages of other components hamper their production output. Those shortages are also affecting Micron directly; Chief Executive

Sanjay Mehrotra

said the inability to procure enough controllers and analog chips will hamper some of Micron’s own production in the current quarter.

But Micron is still more optimistic than others on key parts of the market. Mr. Mehrotra said inventory levels in the data-center segment are in “decent shape.” But market research firm TrendForce predicted last week that server DRAM prices will fall as much as 5% in the calendar fourth quarter, as cloud providers have been procuring “massive amounts” of memory over the past couple of quarters to get ahead of any production shortages.

Joseph Moore

of Morgan Stanley noted that even if cloud providers don’t start drawing that inventory down, they could use their stockpile “as a lever in price negotiations.”

Still, most of Wall Street is positive on Micron, with about 85% of analysts rating the stock as a buy. At about 8 times forward earnings, the shares are cheap relative to peers and their own history over the last two years. Micron also said it expects record revenue in fiscal 2022—which would mean growth of at least 10% from the just-ended year. But more clarity on the trends in DRAM pricing may be needed to get the stock working again. Even chip makers aren’t immune to the chip shortage.

The number of semiconductors in a modern car, from the ignition to the braking system, can exceed a thousand. As the global chip shortage drags on, car makers from General Motors to Tesla find themselves forced to adjust production and rethink the entire supply chain. Illustration/Video: Sharon Shi

Write to Dan Gallagher at dan.gallagher@wsj.com

Copyright ©2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Appeared in the September 30, 2021, print edition as ‘Micron Forecast Spurs Questions About Chip Sector.’

24World Media does not take any responsibility of the information you see on this page. The content this page contains is from independent third-party content provider. If you have any concerns regarding the content, please free to write us here: contact@24worldmedia.com

Latest Post

Common Mistakes When Using Athletic Field Tarps

Last Updated,Jun 5, 2024

High-Performance Diesel Truck Upgrades You Should Consider

Last Updated,May 14, 2024

Warehouse Optimization Tips To Improve Performance

Last Updated,May 6, 2024

Fire Hazards in Daily Life: The Most Common Ignition Sources

Last Updated,Apr 30, 2024

Yellowstone’s Wolves: A Debate Over Their Role in the Park’s Ecosystem

Last Updated,Apr 23, 2024

Earth Day 2024: A Look at 3 Places Adapting Quickly to Fight Climate Change

Last Updated,Apr 22, 2024

Millions of Girls in Africa Will Miss HPV Shots After Merck Production Problem

Last Updated,Apr 18, 2024

This Lava Tube in Saudi Arabia Has Been a Human Refuge for 7,000 Years

Last Updated,Apr 17, 2024

Four Wild Ways to Save the Koala (That Just Might Work)

Last Updated,Apr 15, 2024

National Academy Asks Court to Strip Sackler Name From Endowment

Last Updated,Apr 12, 2024

Ways Industrial Copper Helps Energy Production

Last Updated,Apr 11, 2024

The Ins and Out of Industrial Conveyor Belts

Last Updated,Apr 10, 2024