Micron's $22 billion customer commitments reignite global AI stock rally, market cap briefly tops Meta and Tesla
Micron Technology said customers including Nvidia have committed $22 billion to lock in memory-chip supplies, sparking a global tech rally that briefly pushed its market value past Meta and Tesla.
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology on Wednesday disclosed that clients have signed five-year 'take-or-pay' agreements worth $22 billion, underwriting its factory expansions to secure supply of high-bandwidth memory critical for AI chips. The news sent Micron shares up 18.4% on Thursday, giving it a market capitalization of $1.398 trillion, edging past Meta Platforms ($1.392 trillion) and briefly surpassing Tesla ($1.4 trillion).
Qualcomm added to the upbeat sentiment by forecasting $15 billion in data-center revenue by 2029, reinforcing the bullish case for AI infrastructure spending. Global markets reacted sharply: Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 2%, South Korea's KOSPI rose more than 5% led by Samsung and SK Hynix, and European tech stocks gained 1.7%.
Customers have put billions of dollars on Micron's balance sheet as a show of confidence and their commitment toward this new business model.
What they showed, through longer-term strategic agreements, is that visibility is improving and any downside risk is getting pushed further out.
The AI rally rebound eased concerns over stretched valuations that had triggered a $1 trillion-plus rout in memory stocks earlier this week. Still, Micron warned that factory buildouts will keep supplies tight until at least 2027, and investors now await U.S. inflation data later on Thursday to gauge the Federal Reserve's next move.
