Micron Falls 5% as Memory Stocks Face High Bar; Samsung Earnings Fail to Impress

Micron Technology shares fell 5% to $934.27 on Thursday, pressured by elevated investor expectations for memory chipmakers after peer Samsung Electronics reported record earnings but saw its stock drop 4.1% the same day. Samsung's chip division drove net profit up more than fivefold year-over-year to 75.136 trillion won ($56.15 billion), with operating profit nearly eight times higher and surpassing the 100 trillion won mark. Revenue more than doubled from a year earlier. However, Samsung largely reiterated preliminary results and its shareholder return plan, offering no new surprise — in contrast to SK Hynix, which announced a $75 billion shareholder return plan with its Wednesday results. Counterpoint Research director MS Hwang said Samsung's post-earnings decline reflected the absence of upside in its shareholder return plan, highlighting the challenge investors face amid high expectations. Micron's next test is launching a large-scale buyback, which under conditions tied to its 2024 U.S. CHIPS Act funding could begin as early as December 9. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri estimates Micron could repurchase up to $200 billion annually, while Citi's Atif Malik reiterated a $1,300 target price, citing the company's record $35.2 billion buyback authorization.