Micron (MU) Stock Falls 4% as Board Lifts Buyback Authorization to $35B

TLDR

• Micron (MU) stock fell about 4% on Monday, even after the board raised its buyback authorization to $35.16 billion.
• Repurchases cannot start until December 9, 2026, because of CHIPS Act funding restrictions.
• Fiscal Q4 revenue hit $54.23 billion, up 379% from a year earlier, with non-GAAP EPS of $33.42.
• Micron spent only $650 million on buybacks in fiscal 2026, and it gave no fiscal 2027 repurchase target.
• Analyst targets range from Rosenblatt’s $1,900 to DA Davidson’s $3,000, and the stock sits about 18% below its $1,255 high.

---

Micron (MU) stock fell 3.88% on Monday. The drop came a few days after the company said its board raised the buyback authorization to $35.16 billion.

Micron Technology, Inc., MU

The stock has gained between 247% and 270% this year, depending on the source and the date measured. It still trades about 18% below its 52-week high of $1,255, set on June 25.

The company disclosed the increase in its 10-K filing on Friday. The board approved it on October 8. It is the largest buyback ceiling in Micron’s history.

The new amount adds $33.03 billion to the $2.16 billion left under the 2018 plan. The added portion is based on adjusted free cash flow for the quarter ended September 3, 2026. That figure takes dividends and certain CHIPS Act grants into account.

Investors will have to wait to see any buying. Restrictions in Micron’s CHIPS Act funding agreements bar repurchases until December 9, 2026.

The authorization has no expiration date and no deployment requirement. Micron also gave no dollar target for fiscal 2027 repurchases. That leaves the pace of buying up to management.

The Numbers Behind the Buyback

Micron has plenty of cash to work with. It reported adjusted free cash flow of $33.2 billion for the quarter. Fiscal Q4 revenue came in at a record $54.23 billion, up 379% from a year ago.

Non-GAAP EPS was $33.42, and the non-GAAP gross margin was 87%. All three beat Wall Street estimates. Full-year revenue reached $133.19 billion, up from $37.38 billion a year earlier.

GAAP net income for fiscal 2026 hit $84.97 billion. That is a big jump for a company that spent only $650 million on buybacks last year. It bought back 2.5 million shares in total.

The earlier program also moved slowly. Annual repurchases under it ranged from zero to $2.66 billion. So a $35.16 billion ceiling is a very different scale.

Micron also has to pay for growth. It is spending to add capacity for high-bandwidth memory, which powers AI systems. Cash flow will decide how much goes to buybacks and how much goes to new production.

What Analysts Are Saying

Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy has a Buy rating and a $1,900 price target. He expects the board to keep raising the authorization through fiscal 2027 as quarterly free cash flow builds.

Last week, DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria raised his target to $3,000 from $2,100. That is the highest on the Street. He expects investors to pay a higher multiple as they better understand the company.

The wider group is positive too. Of 28 analysts, 27 rate the stock Buy and one rates it Hold. The average price target is $1,621.67, which implies upside of roughly 58% to 64% depending on the price used.

The first date to circle is December 9. That is when Micron can start buying back shares under the new authorization.