New York, February 19, 2026, 16:59 ET — After-hours
- Micron shares down about 1% after the bell, last at $417.35
- Report says Samsung is seeking roughly $700 per HBM4 unit, up to 30% above HBM3E
- Investors turn to Friday’s U.S. PCE inflation data for the next rates signal
Micron Technology shares slipped 1% in after-hours trading on Thursday, last down $4.10 at $417.35 versus a prior close of $421.45. The Nasdaq-listed stock traded between $408.03 and $426.34 in the session and is up about 91% over the past 12 months.
The move keeps the spotlight on memory pricing, which has become a fast-moving input for earnings estimates as AI hardware demand reshapes supply chains. For Micron, high-end memory sold into data centers can swing margins far more than PC and handset chips.
U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down 0.28% and the Nasdaq off 0.31%, as investors weighed AI-linked volatility and waited for fresh inflation data. “Not everyone’s going to win,” Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments, said, as markets reassessed which companies can turn AI spending into durable profit. (Reuters)
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics shares jumped as much as 5.4% to a record after the Chosun Ilbo said Samsung is negotiating prices for its next HBM4 AI memory chips at up to 30% more than the prior HBM3E generation, or around $700 per unit. Saxo Markets strategist Charu Chanana said it underscored “pricing power” and signaled the AI memory market is still tight, while Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi wrote the price tag implied a 50% to 60% operating margin on Samsung’s HBM4. (The Business Times)
High-bandwidth memory, or HBM, is designed for fast data transfer and reduced power use, and it is increasingly deployed alongside GPUs and AI accelerators. The technology stacks DRAM dies vertically and relies on through-silicon vias, a packaging approach that is more complex — and typically pricier — than conventional memory. (TechTarget)
Analyst calls have also stayed bullish on the cycle. Needham’s Quinn Bolton raised his Micron price target to $450 from $380 and reiterated a buy rating, saying the memory market was “continuing to tighten” and pricing was moving “meaningfully higher,” according to TipRanks. (TipRanks)
But the setup cuts both ways. If rivals ramp supply faster than expected, or if data-center spending cools, pricing leverage can fade quickly in a business that has a long history of sharp boom-bust turns.
Next up is Friday’s U.S. personal income and outlays report, which includes the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index. The Bureau of Economic Analysis lists the next PCE release for Feb. 20. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
