Wall Street Expected Micron to Stumble. Here's Why the Bears Could Be Dead Wrong.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) obliterated analysts' expectations with its fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings report (for the three months ended Feb. 26, 2026) on March 18, putting to rest any fears that the memory specialist has run out of room for growth.

Wall Street had set high revenue and earnings targets for Micron, above its guidance of $8.42 per share in earnings on $18.70 billion in revenue. However, the strong memory demand and pricing environment helped Micron triple its revenue year over year to $23.9 billion. Its earnings growth was even more fantastic, with the bottom line jumping by almost 8 times year over year to $12.20 per share.

Nonetheless, Micron stock retreated despite its solid report and terrific guidance, probably due to concerns that it has reached its peak. After all, the stock has jumped a stunning 277% over the past year, and Wall Street isn't expecting similar upside from here. However, don't be surprised if Micron proves the bears wrong and soars in the coming year.

Image source: Micron Technology.

Micron stock's red-hot rally is here to stay

Micron's 12-month median price target of $550, according to 50 analysts covering the stock, suggests a 55% jump in the coming year. However, it can easily surpass that expectation and deliver much bigger gains.

That's because the favorable factors driving Micron's phenomenal growth are here to stay. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra remarked on the latest earnings call that he expects "supply and demand for both DRAM and NAND to remain tight beyond calendar 2026." The supply constraints caused by overwhelming demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data center chips, which need high-bandwidth memory (HBM) to quickly move huge data sets, will continue to push up memory prices.

Micron noted on the call that the price of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) increased by 65% to 67% sequentially last quarter. The price of storage-oriented NAND flash chips shot up by 75% to 79%. With memory supply set to remain tight, investors can expect Micron's top and bottom lines to continue surging.

This explains why Micron's guidance is simply stunning. The company expects $33.5 billion in revenue in the current quarter at the midpoint of its guidance range. That would be a 3.6 times increase over the year-ago period. Even better, the guidance is miles ahead of the $24.3 billion consensus estimate. What's more, Micron's earnings guidance of $19.15 per share points toward a huge year-over-year increase of 10x.

Wall Street would have settled for $12.05 per share in earnings. So, analysts seem to be underestimating Micron's growth potential, which is why it would be a good idea to buy this AI stock following its post-earnings slip.

Here's how much upside you can expect in the coming year

Micron's earnings expectations have moved significantly higher following its latest report.

MU EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts. EPS = earnings per share.

Analysts expect it to end fiscal 2026 (which ends in August) with $57.76 per share in earnings. The fiscal 2027 earnings estimate of $98.26 suggests that Micron's stock price could jump to $2,024 (assuming it trades in line with the S&P 500 index's forward earnings multiple of 20.6), a potential increase of 5.6x from current levels.

So, Micron could easily prove analysts wrong and clock massive gains in the coming year, which makes it a no-brainer buy right now.

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.