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Micron (MU) Q4 Earnings Top, Shares Fall on Bleak Q1 View
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Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) reported stellar results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2020, wherein its top and bottom lines surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and marked solid year-over-year improvements.
The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.08 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8%. Moreover, non-GAAP earnings registered year-over-year growth of approximately 93%. Quarterly revenues of $6.06 billion outpaced the consensus mark of $5.91 billion and increased 24.4% from the year-ago quarter’s $4.87 billion.
Despite an impressive quarterly performance, shares of the memory chip maker depreciated 3.9% in the extended trading session yesterday on a dismal first-quarter fiscal 2021 outlook and continued restrictions on sales to a major customer.
Micron Technology, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The company anticipates revenues of $5.2 billion (+/-$200 million) for the quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $5.44 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, Micron expects non-GAAP gross margin of 27.5% (+/-100 bps). Operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis are likely to be $825 million (+/-$25 million).
Earnings per share are anticipated to be 47 cents (+/-7 cents). The consensus mark is pegged at 73 cents.
During its fiscal fourth-quarter conference call, Micron revealed that it has not obtained license from the U.S. government to sell its chips to China’s Huawei Technologies. Therefore, the memory chip maker anticipates the shipment ban to erode its sales in first and second quarters of fiscal 2021. Notably, chip sales to Huawei accounted for nearly 10% of the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 total revenues.
Revenue Details
DRAM revenues of $4.37 billion, accounting for 72% of total revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter, grew 29% year over year and 22% sequentially. Bit shipments rose in the mid-20% range sequentially, while ASPs decreased in the lower-single-digit percentage range.
NAND revenues of $1.53 billion, representing 25% of the total top line, were up 27% on a year-over-year basis but declined 8% quarter on quarter. While NAND ASP decreased in the upper single-digit percentage band, shipments remained flat sequentially.
Business-unit wise, revenues of the computing and networking business (CNBU) unit surged 59% from the year-ago quarter and 36% sequentially to $3.02 billion. This sequential growth was mainly driven by continued strength in the Cloud and Client segments owing to the work-from-home infrastructure build-out by organizations. Strong demand for gaming consoles also drove CNBU’s revenues in the quarter.
Revenues of $1.46 billion from the Mobile Business Unit (MBU) climbed 4% on a year-over-year basis but fell 4% sequentially.
The Embedded Business Unit (EBU) revenues logged $654 million, down 7% from the year-ago period and 3% from the previous quarter, primarily due to reduced demand from the automotive sector.
Revenues from the Storage Business Unit (SBU), comprising SSD NAND components and 3D XPoint totaled $913 million, up 8% year over year but down 10% sequentially.
Margins
Micron’s non-GAAP gross profit of $2.11 billion surged 41.6% year on year and 17% sequentially. Non-GAAP gross margin improved from 31% in the year-ago quarter to 35%. Moreover, gross margin expanded 200 basis points (bps) sequentially.
Underutilization charges at the Lehi Lab had a negative impact of nearly $135 million or 220 bps. Nonetheless, sequential growth in gross profit and margin was chiefly aided by solid DRAM cost execution.
Micron’s non-GAAP operating income of $1.3billion soared 87.6% from the year-ago quarter’s $694 million. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded from 14% to 21%. In addition, non-GAAP operating profit and margin improved 300 bps on a sequential basis.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
The company exited the reported quarter with cash and short-term investments of $8.14 billion compared with the $8.66 billion recorded at the end of the prior quarter.
Micron’s long-term debt slightly increased to $6.37 billion from the $6.36 billion witnessed at the end of the fiscal third quarter.
The company generated operating cash flow of $2.3 billion during the fiscal fourth quarter and free cash flow of $111 million. During fiscal 2020, the company generated operating and free cash flows of $8.3 billion and $361 million, respectively.
The company repurchased shares worth $41 million in the reported quarter. During fiscal 2020, Micron repurchased $176 million worth of its common stocks.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Micron currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
The long-term earnings growth rate for Zoom, Salesforce and Synaptics is currently pegged at 25%, 18%, and 10%, respectively.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
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Micron (MU) Q4 Earnings Top, Shares Fall on Bleak Q1 View
Micron Technology (MU - Free Report) reported stellar results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2020, wherein its top and bottom lines surpassed the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate and marked solid year-over-year improvements.
The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.08 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8%. Moreover, non-GAAP earnings registered year-over-year growth of approximately 93%. Quarterly revenues of $6.06 billion outpaced the consensus mark of $5.91 billion and increased 24.4% from the year-ago quarter’s $4.87 billion.
Despite an impressive quarterly performance, shares of the memory chip maker depreciated 3.9% in the extended trading session yesterday on a dismal first-quarter fiscal 2021 outlook and continued restrictions on sales to a major customer.
Micron Technology, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Micron Technology, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Micron Technology, Inc. Quote
Q1 Outlook
The company anticipates revenues of $5.2 billion (+/-$200 million) for the quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $5.44 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, Micron expects non-GAAP gross margin of 27.5% (+/-100 bps). Operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis are likely to be $825 million (+/-$25 million).
Earnings per share are anticipated to be 47 cents (+/-7 cents). The consensus mark is pegged at 73 cents.
During its fiscal fourth-quarter conference call, Micron revealed that it has not obtained license from the U.S. government to sell its chips to China’s Huawei Technologies. Therefore, the memory chip maker anticipates the shipment ban to erode its sales in first and second quarters of fiscal 2021. Notably, chip sales to Huawei accounted for nearly 10% of the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 total revenues.
Revenue Details
DRAM revenues of $4.37 billion, accounting for 72% of total revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter, grew 29% year over year and 22% sequentially. Bit shipments rose in the mid-20% range sequentially, while ASPs decreased in the lower-single-digit percentage range.
NAND revenues of $1.53 billion, representing 25% of the total top line, were up 27% on a year-over-year basis but declined 8% quarter on quarter. While NAND ASP decreased in the upper single-digit percentage band, shipments remained flat sequentially.
Business-unit wise, revenues of the computing and networking business (CNBU) unit surged 59% from the year-ago quarter and 36% sequentially to $3.02 billion. This sequential growth was mainly driven by continued strength in the Cloud and Client segments owing to the work-from-home infrastructure build-out by organizations. Strong demand for gaming consoles also drove CNBU’s revenues in the quarter.
Revenues of $1.46 billion from the Mobile Business Unit (MBU) climbed 4% on a year-over-year basis but fell 4% sequentially.
The Embedded Business Unit (EBU) revenues logged $654 million, down 7% from the year-ago period and 3% from the previous quarter, primarily due to reduced demand from the automotive sector.
Revenues from the Storage Business Unit (SBU), comprising SSD NAND components and 3D XPoint totaled $913 million, up 8% year over year but down 10% sequentially.
Margins
Micron’s non-GAAP gross profit of $2.11 billion surged 41.6% year on year and 17% sequentially. Non-GAAP gross margin improved from 31% in the year-ago quarter to 35%. Moreover, gross margin expanded 200 basis points (bps) sequentially.
Underutilization charges at the Lehi Lab had a negative impact of nearly $135 million or 220 bps. Nonetheless, sequential growth in gross profit and margin was chiefly aided by solid DRAM cost execution.
Micron’s non-GAAP operating income of $1.3billion soared 87.6% from the year-ago quarter’s $694 million. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded from 14% to 21%. In addition, non-GAAP operating profit and margin improved 300 bps on a sequential basis.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
The company exited the reported quarter with cash and short-term investments of $8.14 billion compared with the $8.66 billion recorded at the end of the prior quarter.
Micron’s long-term debt slightly increased to $6.37 billion from the $6.36 billion witnessed at the end of the fiscal third quarter.
The company generated operating cash flow of $2.3 billion during the fiscal fourth quarter and free cash flow of $111 million. During fiscal 2020, the company generated operating and free cash flows of $8.3 billion and $361 million, respectively.
The company repurchased shares worth $41 million in the reported quarter. During fiscal 2020, Micron repurchased $176 million worth of its common stocks.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Micron currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Zoom Video Communications (ZM - Free Report) , salesforce.com, inc. (CRM - Free Report) and Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA - Free Report) , all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The long-term earnings growth rate for Zoom, Salesforce and Synaptics is currently pegged at 25%, 18%, and 10%, respectively.
The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All
Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.
See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>