Micron Stock Is Having a Stellar Year. Dell and HP Earnings Explain Why It Could Get Even Better.

Memory chip prices have skyrocketed this year, resulting in a windfall for Micron. (Courtesy Micron)

Key Points

• Micron Technology rose 2.9% on Friday. It was the second-best performer in the S&P 500 early in the day.
• Micron has seen a 174% gain this year through Wednesday, driven by increased demand for memory hardware, as evidenced by Dell and HP’s results.
• Dell’s stock rose 5.8% on Wednesday after its earnings surpassed estimates.

Micron Technology stock racked up a comfortable gain with solid trading volume on an otherwise quiet session after Thanksgiving. Earnings from Dell Technologies and HP Inc. earlier this week may have something to do with it.

Shares of Micron jumped 2.9% just after 10 a.m. on Friday, making it the second-best performer in the S&P 500 on the day.

The memory-chip maker has gained 174% this year through Wednesday’s close, benefiting from a surge in demand for memory hardware. Dell and HP’s quarterly results showed Wall Street that demand is real.

HP issued a weaker-than-expected 2026 earnings forecast on Tuesday afternoon, which sent the stock lower on Wednesday. Memory prices were a culprit, CEO Enrique Lores told Barron’s.

“From a supply perspective, we’re in a good position, but clearly we see price increases,” Lores said. “We think that the impact is going to be around 30 cents for the full year, so it’s fairly significant.”

While that is bad news for HP, it is the exact thesis that has led so many investors to buy up Micron. HP lists it as a supplier.

Dell stock, meanwhile, jumped 5.8% on Wednesday after the company’s earnings beat consensus estimates. Analysts concluded that while Dell is also seeing higher costs for memory components, it is just dealing with them more effectively than is HP. Micron is a Dell supplier, too.

“Dell’s solid execution and supply chain management enabled it to deliver upside to margin, countering bearish sentiment regarding the pressure from increasing memory chip costs,” wrote Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold in a research note.

Fellow Dell suppliers Western Digital and Seagate Technology Holdings were also on the rise Friday, gaining 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively, though on much lower trading volume. The pair make related data-storage products such as hard-disk drives. Prices and demand for those have also taken off this year.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com