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Chip maker Micron briefly surpasses Meta, Tesla in market value
Micron's shares jumped as much as 18.4%

Chip maker Micron briefly surpasses Meta, Tesla in market value

Jun 26, 2026
02:17 pm

What's the story

Micron Technology, the leading US memory-chip manufacturer, has briefly surpassed tech giants Meta Platforms and Tesla in market capitalization. The surge was driven by a stronger-than-expected quarterly guidance from the company. Micron's shares jumped as much as 18.4% during intraday trading on Thursday, lifting its market capitalization above that of Meta and Tesla for a brief period.

Market performance

Micron's market cap jumps on strong quarterly guidance

By the end of Thursday's trading session, Micron's market capitalization stood at $1.37 trillion, just shy of Meta's $1.38 trillion and Tesla's $1.41 trillion valuations. The company's optimistic fourth-quarter forecast, predicting revenue of around $50 billion for the quarter ending in August, significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations of $43.2 billion. This has further bolstered investor confidence in artificial intelligence infrastructure spending and memory-chip demand despite concerns over hyperscalers' capital expenditure sustainability.

Financial growth

Customers commit $22 billion for future supplies

Micron has also revealed that customers have committed $22 billion to secure future supplies of memory chips. This underscores the high demand for high-bandwidth memory and other AI-focused products. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told analysts there was "no line of sight" to supply catching up with demand, expecting tight market conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027, with gradual improvements in availability expected only in 2028.

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Stock rally

Micron's stock gains over 300% this year

Micron's stock has seen a phenomenal rise, gaining some 326% so far in 2026 and over 15% since reporting earnings. The company crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization milestone in late May, joining an exclusive club of tech giants as investors increasingly rewarded companies positioned to benefit from the AI investment cycle. Micron's strong performance has also triggered a broad rally across semiconductor and storage stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising by 3.2% on Thursday.

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Sector reaction

Broader technology sector ends mixed

Despite Micron's stellar results, the broader technology sector ended mixed. Investors are still wary about whether increased AI-related spending by hyperscalers is sustainable, especially after Apple announced price hikes for iPads and MacBooks to offset rising memory and storage chip costs. The move triggered a 6.1% drop in Apple's shares and reignited debates over who ultimately bears the cost of the AI infrastructure boom.

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