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Investors buy both NVIDIA (NVDA) and Micron Technology (MU) to capture the spending on AI data centers: NVIDIA sells the computing systems, and Micron sells DRAM and NAND memory. Micron trades at 9.2 times earnings compared with 23.4 for NVIDIA, making it look like the cheaper way in. Yet NVIDIA said in August that soaring memory prices had prompted a reset of its gross margin expectations. So will memory prices keep rising, and can NVIDIA keep growing while it pays them?
Are Memory Prices Still Rising For Micron?
They are, although Micron expects the increases to slow. During its August 26, 2026 call, NVIDIA said memory price increases had exceeded its expectations and were headed even higher. For NVIDIA, that serves as a cost warning, but for Micron, those same prices are what it sells at.
Micron provided a pricing outlook on its September 30 call. Management guided fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $60 billion to $63 billion, compared with $54.2 billion in fiscal Q4 2026. That forecast assumes only single-digit growth in the bits of DRAM and NAND that Micron ships, leaving price and product mix to supply the rest of the rise.
Management also said price increases would continue at a more moderate pace. Micron’s 86.0% guide for its gross margin sits just below the 86.8% it reported for fiscal Q4.
Can NVIDIA Keep Growing As Memory Costs Rise?
So far it can, although its margin is slipping. NVIDIA guided fiscal Q3 2027 revenue of $108 billion, plus or minus 2%, compared with $96.2 billion in fiscal Q2. Management expects fiscal 2028 revenue to grow about 70% and said supply, including of its new Vera Rubin systems, would remain the bottleneck through at least the end of that year.
The memory bill shows up in the margin instead. NVIDIA reported a 75.0% gross margin for fiscal Q2 and guided 74% for fiscal Q3, plus or minus half a point. Management expects it to bottom at 71% to 72% in fiscal Q4, then settle at 72% to 73% in fiscal 2028 as NVIDIA’s own price increases take effect.
NVIDIA’s margins have also been far steadier than those of Micron. NVIDIA’s operating margin averaged 61.7% over the last three twelve-month periods, compared with 35.3% for Micron. Over those periods, NVIDIA’s twelve-month operating margin stayed between 58.1% and 65.2%, while Micron’s twelve-month operating margin climbed from 5.2% to 74.6% in two years.
How Do NVIDIA And Micron Compare Head To Head?
Over the latest twelve months, Micron comes out ahead on growth and margin. Micron’s revenue grew 256.3%, against 83.4% for NVIDIA. Its operating margin was 74.6%, compared with 65.2% for NVIDIA. Each company has debt under 1% of its market value.
You cannot see from Micron’s low multiple how new its profits are. Micron’s quarterly operating margin was 45.0% in fiscal Q1 2026 and 80.7% by fiscal Q4. If memory prices fall, Micron stands to lose that margin, and its multiple would look less cheap on lower earnings.
If NVIDIA’s growth stalls instead, you lose the growth its higher multiple pays for, as set out in a sales forecast that runs a full year ahead.
Where Micron Leads And Where NVIDIA Does
Micron leads on its multiple, growth and margin over the latest twelve months, and memory prices are still rising. NVIDIA leads on how steady its margins have been, and its growth outlook holds even as memory costs pull its gross margin down.
The memory prices behind Micron’s margin may rise more slowly from here, because Micron’s own management expects the increases to moderate. Micron’s gross margin for fiscal Q1 2027 is the number to watch when it reports in December 2026.
How Much NVIDIA Do You Already Own?
If you own an S&P 500 or Nasdaq fund, you already own NVIDIA, alongside the same few giants that lead those funds. The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio takes a different route: 30 quality companies in equal weight, so no single stock dominates. Since its inception in September 2020 it has returned 105%, ahead of a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap and Russell 2000.
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