Incredible Micron Quarterly Earnings Propel Nasdaq 2.1% Higher

Quick overview

Investors who doubted Micron’s (MU) quarterly earnings outcome were proven wrong on Wednesday evening as the company shot past expectations and delivered a market lifting report.

The Nasdaq Composite lifted 2.1% on Thursday morning after a stellar Q3 report from Micron Technology blew industry expectations out of the water. MU stock rose 18% in premarket trading, lifting other tech stocks around it and bringing the S&P 500 up 0.7%. The Dow hardly moved with a gain of just 0.2%.

The next big market mover could be the release of the Personal Consumption Price index report scheduled for Thursday morning. This is one of the leading indicators of inflation used by the Federal Reserve, and economists anticipate headline index to tick up 0.5%, a larger leap than the previous month’s.

Tech Stocks Resume Their Rally

On Tuesday, chip stocks and the wider tech sector dropped sharply, with losses that wiped out days of gains. The market was fearful about how Micron Technology’s quarterly report would turn out. Even if the data storage producer had an excellent revenue showing for the quarter, their capex spending could outweigh other factors and drag the 2026 outlook and profits down.

That was not what happened on Wednesday evening, however, and the company reported earnings of $41.46 billion- a marked improvement from the previous Q3 report of $9.3 billion. This was well above the analysts’ forecast of $36 billion, and the company was able to issue a forecast for the current quarter of around $50 billion.

Because Micron increased their guidance, other companies in the same sector now look more promising, and investors responded to the news with decisive, significant trading among chip and AI stocks. Qualcomm (QCOM) rose 10% and Sandisk (SNDK) jumped nearly 16%. Nvidia (NVDA), which has struggled more than most AI-related stocks recently, was up 1.25%, and few major players in this sector were left behind by the upsurge that Micron created.

The tech stock rally will likely continue into the weekend as various stocks rise in sympathy with Micron, but incoming inflation data could put a damper on the party. The initial jobless claims report is coming shortly as well as the first quarter gross domestic product report.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Timothy St. John

Financial Writer - European & US Desks

Timothy St John is a seasoned financial analyst and writer, catering to the dynamic landscapes of the US and European markets. Boasting over a decade of extensive freelance writing experience, he has made significant contributions to reputable platforms such as Yahoo!Finance, business.com: Expert Business Advice, Tips, and Resources - Business.com, and numerous others. Timothy's expertise lies in in-depth research and comprehensive coverage of stock and cryptocurrency movements, coupled with a keen understanding of the economic factors influencing currency dynamics. Timothy majored in English at East Tennessee State University, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

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