Outlook sees slump; Micron drops most in six years

BOISE, Idaho — Micron Technology Inc. shares fell the most in five years as the biggest U.S. maker of memory chips issued a sales forecast that missed analysts’ estimates on weaker demand for personal-computer components.

Revenue for the fiscal fourth-quarter will be $3.45 billion to $3.7 billion, the Boise, Idaho-based company stated after the close Thursday in a presentation on its website.

Analysts on average had projected sales of $4.16 billion for the period through August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Micron shares fell 18 percent to close at $19.66 on Friday in New York, marking the sharpest single-day drop since December 2008. The decline left the stock down 44 percent this year.

For the third quarter, which ended June 4, Micron reported its first revenue decline in more than two years.

Third-quarter sales fell 3.2 percent to $3.85 billion. Profit excluding certain items was 54 cents a share, Micron said Thursday in a regulatory filing.

That compared with the average of analysts’ estimates for revenue of $3.9 billion and profit of 57 cents.