May 26, 2026 marked another historic moment for the US stock market. Shares of Micron Technology, America’s largest memory chip manufacturer, surged as much as 18.7% intraday, reaching a record high of $891.27 and pushing its market capitalization past the $1 trillion mark for the first time. By the close, Micron ended at $895.88, up an astonishing 19.29%—its biggest single-day gain since November 2011. Year-to-date, Micron’s stock has soared roughly 213%, racing from $285.41 at the end of 2025 to last month’s recent peak of $895.55.
Just days before Micron’s rally, President Trump publicly praised the company at a major rally in Suffern, New York, calling it "really great" and highlighting its multi-hundred-billion dollar investments in the US. This endorsement, combined with a bullish report from UBS, ignited Micron’s powerful upswing. Memory chip peers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also saw significant gains, helping the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index reach a new all-time high.
UBS Raises Target Price to $1,625: From "Cyclical Stock" to "Growth Stock" Revaluation
The immediate catalyst behind Micron’s dramatic surge was UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri’s decision to nearly triple Micron’s target price from $535 to $1,625—the highest among the 46 brokerages covering the company. Based on this target, Micron’s market cap could reach approximately $1.8 trillion within 12 months, surpassing Meta and Tesla to become the seventh-largest publicly traded company in the US.
UBS’s core thesis isn’t centered on the widely watched HBM products, but on a structural transformation underway in the memory industry. Hyperscale cloud providers are signing long-term agreements with memory chip suppliers that include fixed-price clauses, with contract terms typically lasting 3 to 5 years. These deals are structured as "2+3" (2 years fixed + 3 years variable) or "3+2" models. Such pricing-constrained LTAs will cover 60% to 70% of Micron’s server DDR5 shipments. While these agreements may require Micron to sacrifice some short-term revenue for long-term demand certainty, they effectively smooth earnings volatility and shift the market’s valuation logic from "cyclical memory chip company" to "AI-driven infrastructure growth company."
Why Is Trump So Bullish on Micron? Tariff Protection and the Strategic Game of US Manufacturing
President Trump’s public praise for Micron at the May 22 rally was a rare moment for a US president to openly "call out" a tech company. However, Trump’s optimism about Micron is grounded in solid reasoning.
On one hand, Micron is executing the largest semiconductor manufacturing expansion in US history. The company has announced a $200 billion domestic investment plan for memory chip manufacturing and R&D, including up to $100 billion over the next 20 years to build America’s largest semiconductor plant in Clay, New York, slated to begin production in 2030. As AI chip supply chain security becomes a national strategic priority, Micron’s expansion aligns perfectly with the US government’s push to "bring semiconductor manufacturing back to America."
On the other hand, the Trump administration is considering tariffs on semiconductor imports to strengthen the US chip industry. With tariff protection expected, Micron—America’s largest domestic memory chip maker—is both a core beneficiary of the "friend-shoring" strategy and Trump’s most compelling case for semiconductor policy success. When Trump says "Micron is really great," it signals a deeper policy intent: using tariffs in tandem with domestic capacity expansion.
Explosive AI Demand: HBM Capacity Sold Out Through 2026, Memory Shortage Unlikely to Ease Soon
The most robust fundamental driver behind Micron’s latest surge is the explosive demand for AI infrastructure. Micron’s management has warned that supply shortages for HBM, DRAM, and NAND memory chips are expected to persist well beyond 2026.
For HBM—the most critical memory product for AI accelerators—Micron’s entire 2026 production capacity is already sold out. Even now, core customer demand fulfillment rates are only 50% to 66%, and supply-demand imbalances are expected to remain unresolved for years. The company has confirmed large-scale shipments of next-generation HBM4 memory chips to NVIDIA and secured its first five-year strategic customer agreement. HBM4’s production ramp is twice as fast as HBM3, and the next-generation HBM4E is expected to begin mass production ramp-up in 2027.
Micron’s management projects the AI memory market will expand from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2028. Based on this, UBS forecasts Micron’s earnings per share will consistently exceed $100 from fiscal 2027 to 2029, with cumulative free cash flow surpassing $400 billion over the same period.
Wall Street Turns Bullish: 39 Out of 44 Brokerages Rate Micron a Buy
Following Micron’s surge, major Wall Street firms quickly raised their target prices. HSBC bumped its target from $750 to $1,100, Citi from $425 to $840, and CFRA to $900. Of 44 major brokerages, 39 now rate Micron a buy, with none recommending a sell.
On the institutional side, Micron became one of the most favored stocks among institutional investors in Q1. About 2,440 institutions disclosed new positions in Micron, including global asset management giants like Rockefeller Capital Management and Schroders. The stock has strong buying support, with upward momentum far outweighing downside risk.
Conclusion
Micron’s market cap breaking $1 trillion signals that the memory chip sector has officially become central to the AI infrastructure investment narrative. UBS’s structural analysis of long-term agreements reveals a fundamental shift in how the market values Micron—from a "cyclical memory stock" vulnerable to price swings, to an "AI growth stock" benefiting from locked-in profits through long-term contracts. Trump’s vocal support is not just rhetoric; it reflects a coordinated strategy of tariff protection and US-based manufacturing. The short-term gap in AI demand cannot be filled, and tight HBM capacity will persist beyond 2026, providing Micron with strong pricing power and profit potential for years to come. With UBS setting a $1,625 target and projecting Micron’s market cap could reach $1.8 trillion, Wall Street’s message is clear: AI memory is no longer a supporting player—it’s the core infrastructure of the AI era.
As Micron leads the AI memory wave, Gate will continue to monitor major structural opportunities in semiconductors and related digital industries, delivering deep industry insights and timely updates for investors.
