Micron shares fall 3.9% as China advances memory-chip technology
Key Facts
Micron shares ended the regular session on October 12, 2026, down 3.9% at $970.54, according to an update published by Investing.com, amid a decline in memory stocks and a technological advance announced by China's CXMT. In South Korean trading the same day, SK Hynix shares fell 2.6%, according to the website's morning report. Samsung Electronics shares dropped 2.3% during the session, part of a selloff affecting both South Korean memory makers. The broader Kospi index fell 3.5% during the trading covered by the morning report. The declines in all three companies' shares coincided with the Chinese competitor's announcement that it had developed a memory design that could increase density, according to a TrendForce estimate cited by Investing.com.
Micron's losses coincided with guidance targeting revenue of $61.5 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, according to its latest earnings release. The company set a range of $1.5 billion above or below that target in its outlook for the coming fiscal period. Revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 was $54.23 billion, according to the same official release. Micron compared that figure with revenue of $41.46 billion in the third quarter of the same fiscal year. The company is thus targeting further revenue growth at the start of its new fiscal year, after the final quarter of the year just ended posted an increase from the preceding quarter.
In China, CXMT announced on September 20, 2026, that it had begun mass production using its fifth-generation technology platform, according to a company statement. It said the platform increases the number of chips produced per wafer by at least 50% compared with its previous platform. Describing the improvement in its statement, the company said, "The number of chips produced from each wafer increases by at least 50% compared with the fourth-generation platform." In a separate estimate cited by Investing.com, TrendForce said the new design could increase memory density by between 30% and 50%. TrendForce's estimate concerns the potential increase in density, while the Chinese company linked its announced improvement to the number of chips produced per wafer.
The Chinese technological developments come as consensus estimates from Visible Alpha, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, point to accelerating revenue at CXMT during 2026. Those estimates project revenue of 374 billion yuan for the Chinese company during the year, according to research published in October. That represents expected annual growth of 506% from the previous year, according to the same consensus estimates. Micron, meanwhile, reported in its official results that fiscal 2026 revenue reached $133.19 billion, following the increase in its quarterly revenue. The company compared that annual figure with revenue of $37.38 billion in fiscal 2025, also marking a year-on-year increase.
On share repurchases, Micron spent $650 million during fiscal 2026, according to an Investing.com report based on its annual filing. The company used that amount to repurchase 2.5 million shares over the fiscal year, according to the report on its actual purchases. Micron confirmed in its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its repurchase program would continue without a specified expiration date. The company stated, "The share repurchase program and the new authorization have no expiration date." That provision covers both the existing program and the new authorization, according to the wording of the official filing setting out the terms of the company's share repurchases.
CXMT is expected to report third-quarter results on October 31, 2026, according to the date cited by Visible Alpha in its research on the company. In December, Micron's share repurchase authorization takes effect on the 9th, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing set a repurchase ceiling of $35.16 billion under the authorization exercisable from that date. By the end of 2026, CXMT plans to launch a new server-memory product based on the new architecture, according to comments by its chairman, Cao Canyu. The South China Morning Post reported the plan, citing a company statement that set year-end as the target for the product launch.