Micron: The Quiet Engine of the AI Boom

Everyone’s obsessed with the chatbots, the image generators, the robots that will, presumably, steal our jobs. And that’s fine. It makes for good headlines. But me? I spend my days looking at the things behind the things. The unglamorous infrastructure. The stuff that doesn’t require a marketing budget the size of a small country. Which brings me to Micron. Micron Technology, a memory manufacturer. Not exactly a name that rolls off the tongue, is it? Sounds more like a cleaning product. But trust me, they’re the ones holding up the whole AI circus.

The stock’s had a run, of course. Up something like 260% in the last year. Which makes you nervous. It always does. It feels…unsustainable. But what I’m starting to suspect is that this isn’t just hype. It’s actual, fundamental demand. Micron specializes in something called High-Bandwidth Memory – HBM. Sounds like a particularly aggressive radio station. But it’s essential for AI. Think of it as the short-term memory for these digital brains. And apparently, they can’t get enough of it. They’re sold out through 2026. Which, in the tech world, is practically an eternity.

Remember, AI Needs a Place to Put Things

My aunt Mildred, she’s obsessed with AI. She thinks it’s going to solve all her problems. She keeps asking me if it can find a matching sock for every sock she owns. I try to explain that it needs…resources. Like, actual physical components. It’s not magic. It’s memory. Micron’s memory. Apparently, AI needs a place to put all its thoughts. Who knew? It’s like a digital hoarder, constantly accumulating data. And Micron is the one providing the storage units.

Their last quarterly earnings? Revenue up 57% year-over-year. Gross margins creeping up towards 57%, with projections for 68% in the next quarter. That’s the kind of math that keeps me up at night. Not because it’s complicated, but because it’s…clean. Too clean. They’ve been buying back shares, paying dividends. A billion dollars in buybacks, $1.7 billion in dividends. It’s all very…responsible. Which, in this market, feels almost subversive.

The Market is About to Get Very Large

They’re predicting the HBM market will grow at a 40% compound annual growth rate through 2028. A hundred billion dollars. That’s a lot of memory. It’s enough to make you wonder what everyone’s storing. Cat videos? Conspiracy theories? My portfolio manager’s brain is starting to hurt. They think they might hit that milestone even sooner than expected. Which means, naturally, they’re expanding production. New plants, existing plants getting bigger. It’s a good problem to have, I suppose. Though it does mean more quarterly reports to read.

And they have pricing power. Because supply is so tight, they can charge what the market will bear. It’s beautiful, really. A simple supply and demand equation playing out on a massive scale. It’s almost…romantic. Almost.

The biggest risk, obviously, is a slowdown in AI. If the whole thing fizzles out, Micron will feel it. But that seems unlikely. Everyone’s throwing money at it. Even my aunt Mildred is considering investing. Though she keeps asking if it’s “like Bitcoin.” I just nod and smile.

There’s Still Room to Grow

The stock is up 38% year-to-date. Which is…significant. But their forward P/E ratio is only around 12. The tech industry average is in the mid-20s. That’s…reasonable. Almost shockingly so. Their market cap has exploded to over $400 billion. Which is…a lot of money. Enough money to buy a small country, probably.

They’re working on securing multiyear contracts. Locking in growth for the foreseeable future. While everyone else is focused on the flashy AI applications, the real money might be in the behind-the-scenes infrastructure. The memory makers. The ones quietly powering the revolution. It’s not glamorous, but it’s…solid. And in this market, solid is a very good thing.

2026-01-25 08:22

Remember, AI Needs a Place to Put Things

The Market is About to Get Very Large

There’s Still Room to Grow

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