Why Did Micron Technology Fall on Thursday?

Micron Technology shares fell on Thursday, primarily due to broad profit-taking and a "sell-the-news" reaction across the market following Nvidia's earnings release. The Nasdaq rose 1.26%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.79%.

Despite Nvidia posting massive revenue figures on Wednesday, investors used the event to lock in profits after Micron's stock had surged 189.28% year-to-date.

Nvidia Highlights Constrained Memory Supply

Nvidia emphasized that extremely tight memory supply will continue to drive prices higher. Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said on Wednesday that the company is facing "extreme pricing conditions in the memory space." She added: "Price increases have exceeded our prior expectations and will continue to rise into next year." Nvidia sources high-bandwidth memory from suppliers, primarily Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics.

Additionally, the Trump administration is reportedly considering new semiconductor tariffs, raising concerns among tech companies about potential impacts on U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.

Margin Pressure Across the AI Supply Chain

Nvidia reported second-quarter revenue of $96 billion, more than double the year-ago period. However, surging memory costs will compress Nvidia's gross margin from 75% in the second quarter to between 71% and 72% in the fourth quarter. CEO Jensen Huang noted that demand will grow by approximately 100% next year, but supply constraints will limit revenue growth to about 70%, stating: "Without constraints, revenue would be much higher."

Technical Analysis

Micron is in a strong long-term uptrend, up 674.24% over the past 12 months, with the stock still trading 55.7% above its 200-day simple moving average. Recent price action has been more volatile, with the stock sitting 4.8% below its 50-day simple moving average, and the 20-day simple moving average below it—a bearish short-term crossover signal that could cap upside.

Momentum is best gauged via the relative strength index, which currently reads 48.29, sitting in neutral territory.

Key turning points help frame the current picture: the stock posted a swing high and 52-week high in June, followed by a swing low in July and a break below support in August—consistent with a cooling-off phase after a sharp rally.

Key resistance: $1,012

Key support: $891.50

Micron stock price action: As of Thursday's writing, Micron Technology shares were down 2.50% at $914.92.