Micron Technology has secured every ounce of its high-bandwidth memory output through all of calendar 2026, reflecting a severe supply shortage for HBM crucial to AI workloads. This complete sell-out underscores the company’s dominant position in a market where only three providers exist globally. Industry forecasts show the HBM market expanding at a 40% compound annual growth rate to reach roughly $100 billion by 2028, two years ahead of prior expectations. In response to sustained oversubscription from major AI data centers, Micron plans to boost capital expenditures by approximately 45% year over year, including expansions at its Virginia site and two new fabs in Idaho and New York, plus a $1.8 billion planned acquisition of a Taiwanese fabrication facility.

In its first quarter of fiscal 2026, Micron reported revenue of $13.6 billion, up 57% year over year, driven almost entirely by demand for AI-oriented memory products. Gross margin reached 57%, and the company guided second-quarter margins to expand further to 68% as higher selling prices from the supply shortage flow through. During the past two years Micron has returned $2.7 billion to shareholders—$1 billion in share repurchases for 13 million shares and $1.7 billion in dividends—while maintaining a debt-to-equity ratio below 0.2, a quick ratio near 1.8, and generating operating cash flow of $8.4 billion in the latest period.

Despite a 260% gain over the last 12 months and a 38% rise year-to-date, Micron trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 12, roughly half the average for the technology sector. Wall Street sentiment remains positive: four analysts rate the stock a strong buy and over thirty rate it a buy, with an average target price exceeding current levels by mid-single digits percentage points. HSBC recently raised its price objective from $350 to $500, citing accelerating DRAM and HBM pricing driven by AI inferencing platforms and forecasting fiscal 2026 operating profit of $51 billion, up 368% year over year.