Here’s what Wall Street is saying about Micron ahead of earnings

Micron Technology (MU) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal first quarter after the market close on Wednesday, December 18, with a conference call scheduled for 4:30 pm ET. What to watch for:

GUIDANCE: Along with its last report, Micron guided for Q1 earnings per share of $1.66-$1.82 on revenue of $8.5B-$8.9B. Analysts at the time were expecting the company to report Q1 EPS of $1.67 on revenue of $8.33B, but those figures have since risen to $1.77 and $8.7B, respectively.

BERNSTEIN CUTS PT: On Wednesday, Bernstein lowered the firm’s price target on Micron to $120 from $140 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares. Mainstream memory and China remain big controversies but the growth of HBM should still propel the industry to nearly record profits in 2025, the firm said. Bernstein sees Memory the most controversial part within its coverage for 2025.

CITI SEES BELOW-CONSENSUS RESULTS: Earlier this week, Citi analyst Christopher Danely reiterated a Buy rating on Micron with a $150 price target ahead of the company’s fiscal Q1 results on December 18. The firm expects the company to post results and guidance slightly below consensus, driven by legacy DRAM weakness. While there is excess DRAM inventory in the computer and handset end markets, this should go away this Spring and is being offset by strength from the data center end market, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi added, though, that it remains bullish on Micron’s DRAM recovery given supply/demand dynamics for 2025.

STIFEL SEES IN-LINE RESULTS: Stifel, meanwhile, expects Micron’s Q1 results to “largely track” the firm’s and consensus estimates, reflecting strong quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year growth. While noting that the firm’s Q2 estimates reflect “modest” quarter-over-quarter growth and are below consensus, the firm suspects Micron could guide “even more conservatively” given seasonal and cyclical headwinds as consumer demand “continues to underwhelm.” However, the firm views this as “a mid-cycle correction, in which Micron can sustain strong margins/profitability,” added the analyst, who reiterated a Buy rating and $135 price target on Micron shares.

COMMERCE SUBSIDY: Last week, Reuters’ David Shepardson reported that the U.S. Commerce Department finalized a $6.165B government subsidy to Micron Technology to produce semiconductors in New York and Idaho. The funding will support the company’s plan to invest around $100B in manufacturing in New York and an additional $25B in Idaho, with the funding split as $4.6B for New York and $1.5B for Idaho. This is one of the largest government awards to chip companies under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the author noted.

CHINESE CHIPS PROBE: Meanwhile, the White House is planning a trade probe into China’s production of older-model semiconductors, The New York Times’ Ana Swanson reported Monday. According to people familiar with the matter and government and industry documents reviewed by the publication, the investigation could ultimately result in tariffs, import bans or other actions on certain Chinese chips and the products that contain them, though the decision about what course to take would fall to the incoming Trump administration. Swanson wrote that the Biden administration has been weighing whether to proceed with a trade investigation under two different laws, one of which is Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which focuses on threats to national security and falls to the Commerce Department. The other is option is Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which applies to acts that are “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable” and burden U.S. commerce, and is carried out by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.