Micron Technology shares are trading lower after-hours: here’s why

Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MU) said on Tuesday its revenue topped estimates as profit more than doubled in the fiscal fourth quarter. Shares of the company, however, were about 5.0% down as investors focused on future guidance that fell shy of expectations.

Financial performance

Micron reported $2.72 billion in profit versus the year-ago figure of $988 million. On a per-share basis, its it earned $2.42 (adjusted) in the recent quarter. The U.S. firm generated $8.27 billion in revenue – an increase from $6.06 billion last year.

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According to FactSet, experts had forecast $2.33 of adjusted EPS on $8.23 billion in revenue. Micron valued its operating cash flow at the end of Q4 at $3.88 billion compared to $2.27 billion at the end of the same quarter last year.

Future guidance

For the current quarter (Q1), Micron forecasts up to $2.20 of adjusted per-share earnings on $7.65 billion in revenue. In comparison, the FactSet consensus is for a higher $2.53 of adjusted EPS on $8.54 billion in revenue.

The Nasdaq-listed firm concluded fiscal 2021 with $27.71 billion in revenue and $5.86 billion in GAAP net income – both above last year’s numbers, as per the earnings press release.

CEO Mehrotra’s remarks

Commenting on the financial update, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said:

Micron’s outstanding Q4 execution capped a year of several key milestones. In fiscal 2021, we established DRAM and NAND technology leadership, drove record revenues across multiple markets, and initiated a quarterly dividend. The demand outlook for 2022 is strong, and Micron is delivering innovative solutions to our customers, fuelling our long-term growth.

The $82 billion company now has a price to earnings ratio of 20.17. Last month, Morgan Stanley downgraded Micron to “equal weight”.