Micron Technology Q1 Profit Up, But Shares Fall After Sales Miss Estimates

(RTTNews) - Micron Technology Inc., (MU) Tuesday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter as revenues and gross margins improved. However, shares of the company fell 9 percent in the extended trading session after its sales fell short of expectations.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron's first-quarter profit rose to $3.29 billion or $2.81 per share from $2.68 billion or $2.19 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings rose to $3.51 billion or $2.97 per share from $2.99 billion or $2.45 per share last year. On average, 29 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $2.96 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenues for the quarter rose to $7.91 billion from $6.80 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $8.02 billion for the quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 58.3 percent from 55.1 percent last year.

"Micron reported strong profitability in the fiscal first quarter, highlighted by double-digit year-over-year revenue growth across our major markets and solid business execution," Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said.

"Despite weak near-term industry supply-demand dynamics entering calendar 2019, Micron is well-positioned to deliver healthy profitability throughout the year. We remain bullish on the long-term secular growth trends driving the memory and storage industry."

MU closed Tuesday's trading at $34.11, up $0.23 or 0.68%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, dropped $3.06 or 8.97% in the after-hours trade.