New York, Feb 12, 2026, 09:58 (ET) — Regular session
- Micron shares jumped roughly 7% in early U.S. trading following executives’ announcement that HBM4 production and shipments have started.
- The update comes after a nearly 10% surge the previous day, sparked by investors reacting to remarks about next-gen AI memory supply.
- Traders are eyeing signals of ongoing pricing power ahead of the next earnings report due in mid-March.
Micron Technology shares jumped 6.7% to $437.78 in Thursday morning trading, pushing higher after the company’s CFO revealed that next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips are already in large-scale production and on their way to customers.
This shift is significant since high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, sits alongside AI processors to speed up data transfer. That segment has become a choke point for AI hardware, drawing investors’ attention for its potential profit margins—and intense rivalry.
Micron’s stock now serves as a barometer for the memory market’s stability—or a return to the usual boom-and-bust swings. Rumors about HBM4 getting ready have surfaced just as South Korean competitors ramp up their next-gen offerings, while major AI customers scramble to secure their supply chains.
At a Wolfe Research conference in New York on Wednesday, Micron’s CFO Mark Murphy revealed the company is already in “high volume production” of HBM4 and has begun shipping to customers. He expects production volumes to increase throughout this quarter. Murphy noted the memory delivers speeds exceeding 11 gigabits per second and expressed strong confidence in its performance, quality, and reliability. Analyst KC Rajkumar from Lynx Equity Strategies said this update should “put to rest the noise” surrounding HBM4. 1
During the same event, Murphy noted that demand is “significantly higher” than Micron’s supply capacity. He also expects this tight balance to persist beyond 2026, as the company negotiates multi-year contracts with customers. 2
Morgan Stanley bumped its price target for Micron to $450 from $350, maintaining an “Overweight” rating. The firm highlighted expected further price gains in DRAM—the common memory found in servers, PCs, and devices—including the newer DDR5 standard. Analyst Joseph Moore noted DDR5 spot prices have climbed roughly 30% year-to-date and added that strong HBM demand linked to Nvidia systems is bolstering the earnings forecast. 3
Micron’s stock climbed again Thursday, following a roughly 10% jump on Wednesday. That spike came after Murphy pushed back against what he described as misleading reports on the company’s HBM strategy and aimed to calm investor concerns about product timing and status. 4
Samsung Electronics announced on Thursday that it has begun shipping its latest HBM4 chips to customers. According to the chip division’s CTO, early feedback has been “very satisfactory.” The company claims its HBM4 operates at 11.7 gigabits per second, with a peak speed of 13. SK Hynix, meanwhile, says it’s already in volume production and plans to hold onto its lead. 5
Micron shook up expectations back in December by projecting second-quarter revenue that would beat estimates, driven by surging AI demand. The company also flagged supply constraints in the HBM sector. At that time, it announced plans to increase capital spending in 2026 as it pursues long-term deals with customers. 6
There’s a catch. If HBM4 qualification delays at major customers, or if Samsung and SK Hynix corner more of the early AI platform demand, Micron might lose the pricing power investors expect. A steep drop in data-center spending would slam memory prices fast—this market still swings wildly when supply catches up.
Investors are setting their sights on Micron’s fiscal second-quarter earnings, scheduled for March 18, per Yahoo Finance’s earnings calendar. Traders will zero in on updates about HBM4 shipment volumes, pricing movements in DRAM and NAND, and Micron’s projections for supply commitments under longer-term contracts. 7
