Micron Sees HBM Market Hitting $100 Billion by 2028 on AI Demand

MUMU

Micron projects the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) total addressable market to expand from about $35 billion in 2025 to roughly $100 billion by 2028, driven by AI demand across data centers and edge devices. Management warns supply constraints will likely persist beyond 2026, granting pricing power, and William Blair forecasts nearly quadrupled earnings over two years.

1. AI-Driven Memory Demand Fuels Growth

Micron’s leadership in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has positioned the company at the center of the AI hardware boom. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Micron reported revenue of $13.6 billion, up 57% year-over-year, driven primarily by surging HBM orders for data centers, edge devices and automotive applications. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra emphasized that expanding context windows for large language models are placing unprecedented load on memory subsystems, and that Micron is sold out of production capacity through the end of calendar 2026.

2. Market Size Expansion and Supply Constraints

Micron has revised its HBM total addressable market forecast from $35 billion in 2024 to an expected $100 billion by 2028, reflecting a 40% compound annual growth rate. Management cautions, however, that global HBM supply will remain meaningfully short of demand beyond 2026, creating a sustained pricing environment that could drive gross margins from roughly 45% today toward an anticipated 68% in the second quarter of fiscal 2026.

3. Earnings Upside and Valuation Opportunity

Analysts at William Blair project that Micron’s earnings could nearly quadruple over the next two years, implying potential EPS of more than $30 by fiscal 2028. Despite this outlook, Micron trades at approximately 12.5 times consensus forward earnings and a PEG ratio near 0.7—metrics that sit well below semiconductor industry averages. This valuation discount underscores the market’s opportunity to capture significant upside as earnings accelerate.

4. Risks and Analyst Sentiment

While 86% of covering analysts rate the stock as a buy or strong buy, the average 12-month price target sits about 12% below current levels, suggesting skepticism around whether supply constraints will persist or competitors could erode Micron’s share. Key risks include potential capacity expansions by rivals in Asia and broader AI adoption pacing. Nonetheless, long-term growth visibility and multi-year HBM supply contracts provide a robust hedge against short-term sentiment shifts.

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