Firstly, client memory modules and SSDs sit at the lowest-margin end of Micron's portfolio as they compete in highly volatile, price-competitive, and promotion-driven market. Even though the Crucial and Ballistix brands still matter , they are squeezed between high-end enthusiast brands and low-end consumer brands, which makes their evolution difficult. By contrast, data center and enterprise products lock in long-term contracts, higher ASPs, and more predictable demand.
Secondly, the supply environment has changed permanently . AI infrastructure requires every single wafer with memory it can consume, something that has never happened with any industry megatrend previously. This means that every wafer Micron assigns to consumer parts is a wafer not going to a hyperscaler or enterprise contract. As a result, keeping a consumer line would directly limit Micron's ability to fulfill orders from its largest customers, which is a risk for profits and strategic relationships.
Thirdly, even a small consumer business would still require a minimum viable supply chain, including product development, firmware validation, compliance testing, sales teams, retail relationships, and global warranty operations. Such fixed costs barely shrink when volume shrinks, so a reduced consumer business would still burn resources while losing the economies of scale that make the segment viable.
As a result, it strategically makes far more sense to wind down consumer operations entirely and free production capacity, R&D, and product engineering resources for premium products like HBM4/HBM4E/C-HBM4E, enterprise drives, and high-density server memory modules.
Micron indicated it will try to reduce the impact of the decision on employees through internal reassignments into existing vacancies elsewhere in the company.
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Anton Shilov Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/dram/micron-is-killing-crucial-ssds-and-memory-in-ai-pivot-company-refocuses-on-hbm-and-enterprise-customers#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unsure if China would buy its H200 chips if restrictions are relaxed as Beijing prioritizes homegrown AI solutions — 'We don’t know. We
- AI boom forces delays on Transcend SSDs, SD cards and flash drives — SanDisk and Samsung short on supplying NAND chips
- A 10-year study indicates that treated surfaces turn yellow more severely than untreated plastic parts — retrobrighting does more harm than good to consoles
- Microsoft, NVIDIA and Anthropic Announce Strategic Partnerships
- Dell and Lenovo set to increase server and PC costs by as much as 15% as soon as this month, according to industry sources — DRAM and AI demand create tight mar
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.