Micron Technology ($MU) reported a larger-than-expected profit for the fiscal first quarter, despite signaling weakness in consumer-oriented markets that may influence its second-quarter outlook. Adjusted per-share earnings reached $1.79 for the three months ending November 28, a significant improvement from a loss of $0.95 a year prior.
The revenue surged by 84%, totaling $8.71 billion, aligning with Wall Street expectations. 'While consumer-oriented markets are weaker in the near term, we anticipate a return to growth in the second half of our fiscal year,' stated Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra. He noted a slowdown in demand for memory and storage within the automotive sector, attributed to lower-than-expected vehicle production.
However, Mehrotra expressed optimism that advanced driver-assistance systems, infotainment, and artificial intelligence integration into vehicles will spur long-term growth in memory and storage requirements. 'Industrial market demand continues to be impacted by inventory adjustments, and we expect a recovery in this market later in calendar 2025,' he added.
Following the earnings report, Micron's shares fell 13% in after-hours trading. Looking ahead, Micron forecasts adjusted earnings per share of $1.43, with a variance of $0.10, anticipating revenue between $7.7 billion and $8.1 billion. Consensus estimates predict normalized earnings of $1.91 per share and sales around $8.94 billion.
Mehrotra commented on the ongoing challenges, noting, 'Inventory reductions in the consumer-oriented segments are having a more pronounced impact, weakening the second-quarter bit shipment outlook.' 'We expect this adjustment period to be relatively brief and anticipate customer inventories reaching healthier levels by spring, enabling stronger bit shipments in the second half of fiscal and calendar 2025,' he concluded..