Shift in AI Infrastructure Market Towards Inference Workloads
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: May 18 2026
0mins
Source: Fool
- Rise of Inference Workloads: Deloitte estimates that inference workloads will account for two-thirds of AI data center computing power this year, a significant increase from 50% in 2025, driving demand for both compute and storage, which will influence investment strategies across the industry.
- Surge in Memory Demand: The explosive growth in inference requests is expected to benefit memory manufacturers like Micron and Sandisk, with Micron's stock rising 639% over the past year and Sandisk's soaring nearly 3,400%, reflecting strong market demand for memory products.
- Supply Shortage Warning: Industry participants warn that supply shortages may persist until next year, potentially leading to further price hikes in DRAM and NAND flash, with Gartner predicting the memory industry's revenue will reach $633.3 billion by 2026, significantly outpacing the growth of the non-memory semiconductor market.
- Attractive Investment Opportunity: Despite substantial stock price increases, Micron and Sandisk have forward P/E ratios of 7.6 and 24, respectively, indicating they are undervalued; given their earnings growth potential, investing in these stocks is considered a smart move.
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Analyst Views on MU
Wall Street analysts forecast MU stock price to fall
26 Analyst Rating
24 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 923.520
Low
235.00
Averages
336.12
High
500.00
Current: 923.520
Low
235.00
Averages
336.12
High
500.00
About MU
Micron Technology, Inc. provides memory and storage solutions. The Company delivers a portfolio of high-performance dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through its Micron and Crucial brands. The Company's products enable advancing in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications. Its segments include Cloud Memory Business Unit (CMBU), Core Data Center Business Unit (CDBU), Mobile and Client Business Unit (MCBU) and Automotive and Embedded Business Unit (AEBU). CMBU is focused on memory solutions for large hyperscale cloud customers, and high bandwidth memory (HBM) for all data center customers. CDBU is focused on memory solutions for mid-tier cloud, enterprise, and OEM data center customers and storage solutions for all data center customers. MCBU is focused on memory and storage solutions for mobile and client segments. AEBU is focused on memory and storage solutions for the automotive, industrial, and consumer segments.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Optimistic Price Predictions: Several Wall Street firms, including Bank of America and UBS, have significantly raised their price targets for Micron, with Bank of America increasing its target from $500 to $950 and UBS from $535 to $1,625, reflecting strong market confidence in its future performance.
- Strategic Customer Agreement: Micron has signed its first strategic customer agreement, ensuring long-term supply purchases over the next five years, which alleviates it from the traditional cyclical fluctuations of the semiconductor industry and enhances its market stability.
- AI Demand Driving Growth: DRAM and NAND flash prices are projected to soar by 125% and 234%, respectively, primarily driven by the construction of AI data centers, prompting Micron to undertake a $200 billion expansion in Idaho and New York to meet the surging chip demand.
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- Production Capacity Expansion Plans: Micron plans to invest $200 billion over the next several years to rapidly expand its production capacity, expecting meaningful supply expansion by 2027 and 2028 to meet the soaring market demand.
- Market Cycle Risks: Despite the current strong demand, analysts predict that supply will catch up to demand by 2028, potentially leading to normalized pricing that could impact the company's revenues and earnings, especially after new facilities become operational.
- Historical Cycle Analysis: Historical data shows that Micron's P/E ratio typically declines after earnings peaks; it is expected that by 2028, earnings could reach $115 per share with a P/E ratio dropping to 4.5, indicating that the current stock price of $899 may be overvalued.
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- Analyst Target Upgrades: Bank of America nearly doubled its price target for Micron from $500 to $950, while UBS raised its target from $535 to $1,625, indicating strong market confidence in Micron's growth potential, which could drive further stock price increases.
- Strategic Customer Agreement: Micron signed its first long-term supply agreement with a strategic customer for five years, which helps it stand out from the traditional boom-bust cycles of the semiconductor industry, enhancing its market stability and long-term revenue outlook.
- Surge in AI Infrastructure Demand: DRAM and NAND prices are projected to soar by 125% and 234%, respectively, driven by the construction of AI data centers, prompting Micron to undertake a $200 billion expansion plan with multiple high-volume fabs in Idaho and New York to meet the surging market demand.
See More
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- Surge in AI Demand: The explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory and storage from AI systems has led Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung to dominate the DRAM market, resulting in tight supply expected to last through 2027, thereby supporting elevated profit margins.
- Price Increase Trends: According to analyst channel checks, second-quarter average selling prices for DRAM are projected to rise by 50% to 60% from the previous quarter, while NAND prices may increase by 75% to 100%, directly driving profit growth for these companies.
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See More
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- New Partnership Announcement: Nvidia formed a new partnership with photonics leader Coherent, committing to multibillion-dollar purchases and a $2 billion investment in R&D, aimed at enhancing the capabilities of laser and optical networking products essential for scaling AI infrastructure in data centers.
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See More
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- Milestone Market Cap: Micron Technology's market capitalization has doubled over the past 48 days to approximately $1.04 trillion, making it one of only 14 companies globally valued at over $1 trillion, highlighting its robust growth potential in the semiconductor industry.
- Optimistic Price Predictions: Several Wall Street firms, including Bank of America and UBS, have significantly raised their price targets for Micron, with Bank of America increasing its target from $500 to $950 and UBS from $535 to $1,625, reflecting strong market confidence in its future performance.
- Strategic Customer Agreement: Micron has signed its first strategic customer agreement, ensuring long-term supply purchases over the next five years, which alleviates it from the traditional cyclical fluctuations of the semiconductor industry and enhances its market stability.
- AI Demand Driving Growth: DRAM and NAND flash prices are projected to soar by 125% and 234%, respectively, primarily driven by the construction of AI data centers, prompting Micron to undertake a $200 billion expansion in Idaho and New York to meet the surging chip demand.
See More
Micron's Earnings Surge Driven by AI Demand
- Significant Earnings Growth: Micron's earnings have surged due to memory chip demand far exceeding supply, with its stock price rising over 800% in the past year, pushing its market capitalization past $1 trillion and highlighting the company's strong performance amid the AI megatrend.
- Production Capacity Expansion Plans: Micron plans to invest $200 billion over the next several years to rapidly expand its production capacity, expecting meaningful supply expansion by 2027 and 2028 to meet the soaring market demand.
- Market Cycle Risks: Despite the current strong demand, analysts predict that supply will catch up to demand by 2028, potentially leading to normalized pricing that could impact the company's revenues and earnings, especially after new facilities become operational.
- Historical Cycle Analysis: Historical data shows that Micron's P/E ratio typically declines after earnings peaks; it is expected that by 2028, earnings could reach $115 per share with a P/E ratio dropping to 4.5, indicating that the current stock price of $899 may be overvalued.
See More
Micron Technology Surpasses $1 Trillion Market Cap
- Milestone Market Cap: Micron Technology's market capitalization has doubled over the past 48 days to approximately $1.04 trillion, making it one of only 14 companies globally valued at over $1 trillion, reflecting strong performance and market confidence in the semiconductor sector.
- Analyst Target Upgrades: Bank of America nearly doubled its price target for Micron from $500 to $950, while UBS raised its target from $535 to $1,625, indicating strong market confidence in Micron's growth potential, which could drive further stock price increases.
- Strategic Customer Agreement: Micron signed its first long-term supply agreement with a strategic customer for five years, which helps it stand out from the traditional boom-bust cycles of the semiconductor industry, enhancing its market stability and long-term revenue outlook.
- Surge in AI Infrastructure Demand: DRAM and NAND prices are projected to soar by 125% and 234%, respectively, driven by the construction of AI data centers, prompting Micron to undertake a $200 billion expansion plan with multiple high-volume fabs in Idaho and New York to meet the surging market demand.
See More
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- Price Target Increases: Susquehanna analyst raised Micron's price target from $600 to $1,750 and SanDisk's from $2,000 to $3,250, both setting new Wall Street highs, reflecting strong market expectations for memory demand.
- Surge in AI Demand: The explosive demand for high-bandwidth memory and storage from AI systems has led Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung to dominate the DRAM market, resulting in tight supply expected to last through 2027, thereby supporting elevated profit margins.
- Price Increase Trends: According to analyst channel checks, second-quarter average selling prices for DRAM are projected to rise by 50% to 60% from the previous quarter, while NAND prices may increase by 75% to 100%, directly driving profit growth for these companies.
- Optimistic Market Outlook: Market research firm TrendForce forecasts memory revenue to surge by 134% to $552 billion in 2026, followed by a 53% increase to $843 billion in 2027, indicating that strong market demand and constrained supply will continue to drive price increases.
See More
Wall Street Seeks Broader Market Leadership Amid Stellar Earnings
- Market Fragility Concerns: Despite stellar earnings driving stock indexes to all-time highs, Wall Street is worried about narrow leadership, as Matt Stucky, Chief Portfolio Manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, noted that such concentration could exacerbate market fragility and impact investor confidence.
- Semiconductor Sector Drive: Micron Technology (MU) crossed the $1 trillion market cap for the first time, becoming the 11th largest public company in the U.S., with its sharp rally contributing 18 points to the S&P 500, highlighting the strong performance of semiconductor and memory-related stocks in propelling the market.
- AI Supercycle: With accelerating demand for AI servers, Dell (DELL) saw its stock soar over 50% last week, while Hewlett Packard (HPE) jumped 12%, indicating that AI-related stocks are leading a new wave of investment interest and attracting more investor attention.
- Future Market Outlook: UBS strategists expect the S&P 500 to rise further in the medium term, targeting 7,900 points, emphasizing that market leadership will broaden beyond megacaps, and recommending diversification into global healthcare, industrials, and infrastructure to navigate market volatility.
See More
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- Investment Portfolio Growth: Nvidia's investment portfolio swelled to nearly $18.4 billion by the end of Q1, including a $3.8 billion investment in two AI stocks, reflecting its ongoing confidence and strategic positioning in the AI sector.
- Increased Stake in CoreWeave: Nvidia raised its stake in AI data center company CoreWeave by 95%, totaling over $3.65 billion, indicating its recognition of CoreWeave's critical role in AI data center construction, particularly with plans to build over 5GW of data centers by 2030.
- New Partnership Announcement: Nvidia formed a new partnership with photonics leader Coherent, committing to multibillion-dollar purchases and a $2 billion investment in R&D, aimed at enhancing the capabilities of laser and optical networking products essential for scaling AI infrastructure in data centers.
- Market Risk Considerations: Despite CoreWeave's promising outlook in the AI space, its high debt-to-equity ratio of 5.2 and significant shareholder dilution raise concerns about its financial health, potentially exposing it to substantial risks amid fluctuations in the AI market.
See More
