U.S. memory chipmaker Micron has once again posted record-breaking quarterly revenue, driven by a global surge in memory demand in the era of artificial intelligence (AI).

The company's stock price surged more than 15% in after-hours trading.

Micron announced on June 24 (local time) that its revenue for the third quarter of its fiscal year (March–May) reached $41.46 billion (approximately 64 trillion won), a 345.7% increase compared to $9.3 billion during the same period last year.

This figure surpassed the $35.84 billion estimate compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and broke the previous record of $23.86 billion set in the second quarter.

The highest revenue was generated by the "Cloud Memory" business segment, which includes the company's core product, High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), recording $13.77 billion.

The "Core Data Center" and "Mobile Client" segments posted $11.52 billion and $11.52 billion respectively, while the automotive and industrial segment recorded $4.63 billion in revenue.

It appears that the growth in memory demand, which began in AI data centers, is expanding across all memory sectors, including general data centers, mobile devices, and automotive and industrial applications.

The operating profit margin soared from 26.8% in the same period last year to 81.2%.

This is more than 10 percentage points higher than the 69% recorded in the previous quarter.

Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) also reached $25.11, significantly exceeding the Wall Street consensus of $20.78.

Micron projected that this upward trend would continue into the fourth quarter (June–August), with revenue expected to reach $50 billion.

If this forecast holds, it would comfortably exceed the market expectation of $43.58 billion by a significant margin.

Micron stated that its 6th-generation "HBM4" is being widely adopted in customer platforms, and the development of the 7th-generation "HBM4E" is proceeding without setbacks, with mass production expected to begin next year.

CEO Sanjay Mehrotra emphasized, "Our record-breaking third-quarter results and an even stronger fourth-quarter outlook reflect the strategic value of memory in the AI era," adding, "Multi-year Strategic Customer Agreements (SCAs) will enhance the sustainability and predictability of Micron's robust performance."

Micron, which closed 0.3% lower in regular trading on that day, rose more than 15% in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement, hovering around the $1,213 level as of 4:50 p.m. Eastern Time.

(Photo: Yonhap News)