Micron Shares Fall Following Nvidia Leadership Exit and Memory Sector Worries

Micron Technology Inc shares fell in early trading on November 12, sliding 3.24% to $785 by 9:35 a.m. ET and dropping as much as 4.8% later in the morning. The decline halted a sharp rebound that saw the stock leap 11.89% on Wednesday to close at $811.30, which briefly elevated the company's valuation to $917.92 billion. Wednesday's jump had been triggered by CoreWeave disclosing that its capacity was largely booked out through 2027.

The primary shock to semiconductor equities came after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang abruptly stepped down. Because data centers frequently match Micron DRAM and NAND flash memory chips alongside Nvidia graphics processing units to power artificial intelligence tasks, investors feared that instability at the AI hardware pioneer could cool demand across data center supply chains.

Broader sector headwinds also affected trading. Channel reports showed softening spot prices and inventory realignments in personal computers and mobile devices, while clients including Apple and Qualcomm cited pressure on margins from high component costs. Furthermore, construction was halted at Micron's $4.5 billion Taoyuan site in Taiwan due to a labor dispute. Rising competition from SK Hynix in high-bandwidth memory and CXMT in standard DRAM added to investor unease, leading Bank of America to drop the stock from its primary conviction list.

Policy developments have introduced extra caution. In the recent U.S. midterm elections, Democrats won control of both congressional chambers, sparking concerns about prospective rules and constraints on data center expansions. Despite these uncertainties, financial performance remains elevated. In fiscal 2026, Micron posted revenue of $133.19 billion, an increase of 256%, while non-GAAP earnings per share surged 811% to $75.52. In the fourth quarter, data center sales reached $18 billion, accounting for about 33% of total revenue.

Management previously projected fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue at $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion, alongside a non-GAAP gross margin near 86.25% and non-GAAP earnings per share of $38.15. In addition, an amended regulatory filing by Anthropic lists Micron for approximately $1 billion in placement shares. Wall Street analysts maintain an average price target of $1538.93 on the stock.