MMarketMath

MU

StalwartQuality: Medium (66/100)4 red flags

Micron Technology · Information Technology · Semiconductors

$910.43

52w 114.25 – 1,255.00

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$1.03T

P/E

123.9

P/FCF

634.5

FCF yield

0.2%

ROE

15.8%

Shldr yield

0.0%

div 0.0% + bb 0.0%

What today's price assumes

At $1.03T, the market is pricing in 58.1% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 3.5% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $22 · $22 · $27 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 5.4× across 17 years, MU would trade near $84/share (25th–75th percentile: $51–$109); it trades at 58.7× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+6.7%

Rev 5y

+11.8%

Rev 10y

+8.7%

EPS 5y

+26.2%

EPS 10y

+11.9%

FCF 5y

+82.2%

FCF 10y

+3.5%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2009–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2009: $4.8B
2010: $8.5B
2011: $8.8B
2012: $8.2B
2013: $9.1B
2014: $16.4B
2015: $16.2B
2016: $12.4B
2017: $20.3B
2018: $30.4B
2019: $23.4B
2020: $21.4B
2021: $27.7B
2022: $30.8B
2023: $15.5B
2024: $25.1B
2025: $37.4B
$0$10.0B$20.0B$30.0B
09
12
15
18
21
24

Net income

2009: −$1.9B
2010: $1.9B
2011: $167.0M
2012: −$1.0B
2013: $1.2B
2014: $3.0B
2015: $2.9B
2016: −$276.0M
2017: $5.1B
2018: $14.1B
2019: $6.3B
2020: $2.7B
2021: $5.9B
2022: $8.7B
2023: −$5.8B
2024: $778.0M
2025: $8.5B
−$5.0B$0$5.0B$10.0B
09
12
15
18
21
24

Free cash flow

2009: $718.0M
2010: $2.5B
2011: −$66.0M
2012: $415.0M
2013: $369.0M
2014: $2.6B
2015: $1.2B
2016: −$2.6B
2017: $3.4B
2018: $8.5B
2019: $3.4B
2020: $83.0M
2021: $2.4B
2022: $3.1B
2023: −$6.1B
2024: $121.0M
2025: $1.7B
−$5.0B$0$5.0B
09
12
15
18
21
24

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2009: 800.7M
2010: 1.1B
2011: 1.0B
2012: 991.0M
2013: 1.1B
2014: 1.2B
2015: 1.2B
2016: 1.0B
2017: 1.2B
2018: 1.2B
2019: 1.1B
2020: 1.1B
2021: 1.1B
2022: 1.1B
2023: 1.1B
2024: 1.1B
2025: 1.1B
0500.0M1.0B
09
12
15
18
21
24

Margins

0%50%091215182124
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2009: $2.0M
2010: $21.0M
2011: $163.0M
2012: $6.0M
2013: $5.0M
2014: $76.0M
2015: $884.0M
2016: $148.0M
2017: $36.0M
2018: $71.0M
2019: $2.7B
2020: $176.0M
2021: $1.2B
2022: $2.9B
2023: $929.0M
2024: $813.0M
2025: $522.0M
$0$1.0B$2.0B
09
12
15
18
21
24

Cash vs long-term debt

$5.0B$10.0B091215182124
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q3'23: $3.8B
Q4'23: $4.0B
Q1'24: $4.7B
Q2'24: $5.8B
Q3'24: $6.8B
Q4'24: $7.8B
Q1'25: $8.7B
Q2'25: $8.1B
Q3'25: $9.3B
Q4'25: $11.3B
Q1'26: $13.6B
Q2'26: $23.9B
Q3'26: $41.5B
$0$20.0B$40.0B
23
24
25
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q3'23: −$1.9B
Q4'23: −$1.4B
Q1'24: −$1.2B
Q2'24: $793.0M
Q3'24: $332.0M
Q4'24: $887.0M
Q1'25: $1.9B
Q2'25: $1.6B
Q3'25: $1.9B
Q4'25: $3.2B
Q1'26: $5.2B
Q2'26: $13.8B
Q3'26: $28.2B
$0$10.0B$20.0B
23
24
25
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q3'26$41.5B+345.7%$28.2B+1398.3%24.67$25.4B
Q2'26$23.9B+196.3%$13.8B+770.8%12.07$11.9B
Q1'26$13.6B+56.7%$5.2B+180.2%4.60$8.4B
Q4'25 *$11.3B+46.0%$3.2B+260.9%2.83$5.7B
Q3'25$9.3B+36.6%$1.9B+467.8%1.68$4.6B
Q2'25$8.1B+38.3%$1.6B+99.6%1.41$3.9B
Q1'25$8.7B+84.3%$1.9B1.67$3.2B
Q4'24 *$7.8B+93.3%$887.0M0.81$3.4B
Q3'24$6.8B+81.5%$332.0M0.30$2.5B
Q2'24$5.8B+57.7%$793.0M0.71$1.2B
Q1'24$4.7B+15.7%−$1.2B-1.12$1.4B
Q4'23 *$4.0B−39.6%−$1.4B−195.8%-1.31$249.0M
Q3'23$3.8B−56.6%−$1.9B−172.2%-1.73$24.0M

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+6.7%+11.8%+8.7%+10.4%
Operating cash flow+4.9%+16.1%+12.9%+12.3%
Free cash flow−18.8%+82.2%+3.5%−2.6%
EPS (diluted)−0.7%+26.2%+11.9%+9.9%
Equity+2.8%+6.8%+16.0%+13.6%
LT debt+24.2%+13.4%+6.3%+13.8%
Diluted shares+0.1%−0.1%−0.4%+0.5%
Stock price+136.1%+66.2%+49.7%+40.1%

$100, 3 years ago

$1,316vs $176 in SPY

136.1% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$1,267vs $181 in SPY

66.2% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$5,662vs $412 in SPY

49.7% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$15,798vs $813 in SPY

40.1% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$8.49

$136.1B created / $16.0B retained

Last 10 years

$3.88

$170.8B created / $44.0B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

26.7%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

1.7%

MC vs 10× OCF

6.04

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

6.9y

SBC / FCF

58.3%

Owner earnings

$696.0M

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

0.1%

Share count 5y

+2.1%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$2.77

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 33.5% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 49.8% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 16.7% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

17 of 27 checks pass · 63%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

6/7

  • Revenue growth

    11.8% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    26.2% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    82.2% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Revenue rises consistently

    6 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    8 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    8 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    16.1% vs 11.8% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    pass

Profitability

5/7

  • Net margin

    22.8% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    26.1% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    39.8% vs 45.2% · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    fail
  • Return on equity

    15.8% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    26.7% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    4.5% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $17.5B vs NI $8.5B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

4/5

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    6.9y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    fail
  • Cash cushion

    84% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    pass
  • Leverage

    0.21 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $54.2B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    5% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    pass

Capital Allocation

2/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    2.1% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    fail
  • Stock comp restrained

    58% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    fail
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    31% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    pass
  • Repurchases are a habit

    9 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

0/4

  • FCF yield

    0.2% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    123.9 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    58.1% vs 3.5% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    0.0% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    fail

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Heavy debt load

Long-term debt exceeds 5 years of free cash flow.

Heavy stock compensation

Stock-based compensation consumes more than 30% of free cash flow.

Shareholder dilution

Diluted share count has grown by more than 2% per year over ~5 years.

Margin compression

Gross margin has fallen by more than 5 points over the last three years.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202537,37814,8739,7708,5397.5917,52515,8571,66852209729,64211,53354,1651,125
202425,1115,6131,3047780.708,5078,3861215133008337,04111,34345,1311,118
202315,540-1,416-5,745-5,833-5.341,5597,676-6,1175044255968,57712,04944,1201,093
202230,75813,8989,7028,6877.7515,18112,0673,1144612,4325148,2626,02049,9071,122
202127,70510,4236,2835,8615.1412,46810,0302,43801,2003787,7635,96843,9331,141
202021,4356,5523,0032,6872.378,3068,2238301763287,6246,15738,9961,131
201923,40610,7027,3766,3135.5113,1899,7803,4092,7292437,1524,54135,8811,143
201830,39117,89114,99414,13511.5117,4008,8798,521711986,5063,77732,2941,229
201720,3228,4365,8685,0894.418,1534,7343,419362155,1099,87218,6211,154
201612,3992,505168-276-0.273,1685,817-2,6491481914,1409,15412,0801,036
201516,1925,2152,9982,8992.475,2084,0211,1878841682,2876,25212,3021,170
201416,3585,4373,0873,0452.545,6993,1072,592761154,1504,89310,7601,198
20139,0731,8472361,1901.131,8111,4423695912,8804,4529,1421,057
20128,234968-612-1,032-1.042,1141,6994156872,4593,0387,700991
20118,7881,7587611670.172,4842,550-66163762,1601,8618,4701,008
20108,4822,7141,5891,8501.853,0966162,48021932,9131,6488,0201,051
20094,803-440-1,676-1,882-2.351,2064887182441,4856,939801

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.