A prediction from The Motley Fool suggests Micron Technology may generate more net income than Microsoft in fiscal 2027, a claim that hinges almost entirely on the sustained elevation of memory prices. This projection positions the memory specialist to outperform the software giant, which reported record results for its fiscal 2026 year ending June 30.
Microsoft’s fiscal 2026 revenue grew 18% to $331.8 billion, with net income rising 31% to $133.7 billion. Micron, by contrast, earned $8.5 billion in its fiscal 2025. However, the company’s recent trajectory has accelerated sharply. Net income reached $13.8 billion in the fiscal second quarter of 2026 and climbed to $28.2 billion by the fiscal third quarter, which ended May 28, 2026.
For the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, ending in early September, Micron management forecast diluted earnings per share of $30.73, with a margin of error of $1.00, under GAAP standards. Based on approximately 1.15 billion diluted shares, this guidance implies roughly $35 billion in profit for a single quarter. Four quarters at this pace would total about $141 billion, exceeding Microsoft’s prior year total. The prediction notes that Microsoft’s reported figure included about $5 billion in gains from its OpenAI investment.
The primary driver of Micron’s surge is price rather than volume. Average selling prices for DRAM rose in the low-60% range from the prior quarter, while shipment volumes increased only a low-single-digit percentage. Consequently, Micron’s gross margin expanded from 37.7% in the prior-year quarter to 84.6% in the fiscal third quarter. The company is selling slightly more memory at significantly higher prices.
Adjusting for the fact that Micron’s fiscal 2026 was a 53-week year, with the final quarter containing 14 weeks instead of the typical 13, the annualized profit figure for a standard 52-week year is closer to $131 billion. To surpass Microsoft’s fiscal 2027 profit, which could reach approximately $154 billion even if growth slows to half of last year’s rate, Micron would need to average between $38 billion and $39 billion in net income per quarter. This represents an increase of about 10% over the current guided quarter, achieved with one fewer week in the cycle.
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated in the fiscal third-quarter earnings release that multi-year Strategic Customer Agreements will enhance the durability and predictability of the company’s financial performance. These agreements often set fixed or floor-and-ceiling prices, which could cushion the company against price declines. However, memory prices have previously reversed; in fiscal 2023, a supply glut cut Micron’s revenue nearly in half to $15.5 billion and resulted in a $5.8 billion net loss.
Operational risks also persist. Unions representing most of Micron’s employees in Taiwan, its largest manufacturing center, have been pushing for a profit-sharing plan and maintaining strike preparations, according to Reuters reports from mid-September. No strike has been called, and production has not been affected to date.
The prediction concludes that Micron can clear the profit bar without further price surges, provided prices remain near record levels and the company sells more bits. The author characterizes this as a profit ranking rather than a stock recommendation, noting that Microsoft is valued at about three and a half times Micron’s valuation and that memory profits have historically been less durable.