Micron Dumps Its ‘Crucial’ Business. That’s Not Why the Stock Is Down.

Micron shares have more than doubled this year so far. (Courtesy Micron)

Key Points

• Micron Technology will exit its Crucial-branded consumer memory business by the end of February 2026 to focus on artificial intelligence.
• The company is prioritizing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chip supply for AI hardware, competing with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.
• Conventional DRAM prices are projected to increase by 18% to 23% in the fourth quarter, according to TrendForce.

Micron Technology is exiting its consumer memory-chip business and putting all its bets on artificial intelligence. That’s not why the stock is down.

Micron stock ended 3.2% lower on Thursday, at $226.65 after it said said Wednesday that it would stop selling Crucial-branded consumer memory products at the end of February 2026. It will continue to honor warranties and provide support for existing products.

The move comes as Micron works to ramp up supply of memory-chip components for AI hardware. In particular, a form of chip called high-bandwidth memory (HBM) is necessary as a component of the latest processors from the likes of Nvidia . Micron is in a race with South Korean rivals SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics to supply HBM chips and other components to AI semiconductor companies.

“Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments,” said Sumit Sadana, chief business officer at Micron, in a statement.

That huge surge in AI demand is transforming the memory-chip industry. Samsung temporarily stopped announcing contract prices for some memory-chip products last month as spot prices tripled, according to Taiwanese publication DigiTimes. Research firm TrendForce expects conventional DRAM—dynamic random access memory—prices to rise between 18% and 23% in the fourth quarter.

Weakness in Micron’s stock, however, is likely due to the same AI concerns that have knocked it from its November all-time high. Mizuho’s Jordan Klein blames “tourists” who owned the memory-chip stocks for their role in AI, and are now selling on concerns about a cycle peak. “[A] lot of ‘tourist’ investors own memory and [are] not paying attention nor have a clue what is real and what is noise,” Klein writes. “I would take [the] other side of ‘CYCLE PEAK’ near in DRAM and NAND call and remain long MU, Hynix and Samsung.”

It may pay to have a long memory.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com