MU's Mixed Results

As I've noted in the past, Micron doesn't give guidance so the Street estimates are largely guesstimates and frequently miss by quite a bit. Unlike in the past, however, the company is not giving any specifics as to its own bit-growth rates for the second fiscal quarter. DRAM bits were characterized as being "down," with no real changes in the cost of goods for the product line. NAND flash bit-growth will also be down, but cost savings are expected to decline again.

Similar to every company, Micron is cutting back wherever possible. The company also reduced its capex guidance for fiscal 2009 again. The new range is expected to be in the $650 million to $750 million neighborhood vs. the prior expectation of $1.0 billion to $1.3 billion. The CEO also noted that many of the capex spending expectations he's seen from the Street for the industry remain too high.

Business remains tough, but the company is among the leanest in the industry and is among the lowest cost providers. When prices turn, and they will, Micron will be a prime beneficiary.

---

Know What You Own: Micron operates in the memory chips industry, and some of the other stocks in its field include SanDisk (SNDK - commentary - Cramer's Take), Rambus (RMBS - commentary - Cramer's Take), NetLogic Microsystems (NETL - commentary - Cramer's Take), Silicon Storage Technology (SSTI - commentary - Cramer's Take) and MIPS Technologies (MIPS - commentary - Cramer's Take). For more on the value of knowing what you own, visit TheStreet.com's Investing A-to-Z section.

---

At the time of publication, Faulkner was Micron Technology stock, and The Telecom Connection model portfolio was long Micron calls.

Bob Faulkner has been in the investment business for 18 years with an exclusive focus on technology stocks. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Faulkner appreciates your feedback; click here to send him an email.

Interested in more writings by Bob Faulkner? Check out his newsletter, TheStreet.com The Telecom Connection. For more information, click here.