Core Viewpoint - Micron's stock surged over 10% following strong quarterly results, driven by increased demand for memory chips due to the tech industry's focus on building AI-capable data centers [1] Financial Performance - Micron's DRAM revenue increased by 69% to $10.8 billion in the first quarter, primarily due to AI-related demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips [2] - The company's earnings per share (EPS) reached $4.78, exceeding the expected $3.95, while quarterly revenue was $13.6 billion, surpassing the $13 billion estimate by analysts [3] - Revenue from NAND storage chips used in data centers exceeded $1 billion for the first time [3] Future Outlook - Micron forecasts second-quarter revenue between $18.3 billion and $19.1 billion, significantly above the $14.4 billion expected by analysts [4] - The company anticipates EPS to reach $8.42 at the midpoint for the February quarter, ahead of the $4.71 estimate, with projected gross margin hitting an all-time high of 68% [4] Market Dynamics - CEO Sanjay Mehrotra noted that AI data center buildout plans have sharply increased demand for memory and storage, with supply expected to remain short of demand for the foreseeable future [5] - The market for HBM chips is projected to grow from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2028 [5] Analyst Sentiment - Following the positive earnings surprise, Wall Street analysts raised their price targets for Micron shares, with some estimates reaching as high as $500 [6] - Analyst Melissa Fairbanks from Raymond James increased her price target from $190 to $310, citing favorable industry conditions driven by AI-related demand and tight global supply [6] Stock Performance - Micron's shares were trading around $251, with a year-to-date increase of approximately 210% [7]

SEOUL (Reuters) -Shares of South Korea's Samsung Electronics jumped 4.7% and SK Hynix soared 12% on Thursday, bolstered by a deal with OpenAI to support the ChatGPT maker's expansive Stargate artificial intelligence data centre project. The partnership, announced late on Wednesday, sent Samsung shares to their highest in more than four years and SK Hynix to an all-time high, adding $37 billion to their combined market capitalisation. Their rally also propelled the benchmark KOSPI index more than 3% to ...