Micron CEO sees semiconductor growth as cars become ‘data centers on wheels’ and 5G rolls out

Micron CEO sees semiconductor growth as cars become ‘data centers on wheels’ and 5G rolls out

sees immense growth for semiconductors in 5G and electric vehicles as world economies recover from the pandemic, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told CNBC on Thursday. "The markets today are more diversified than ever. Automotive, electric vehicles requiring more memory and storage — actually becoming data centers on wheels in the future — and certainly smartphones, data centers, gaming, industrial applications" are all contributing to increased need for chips, Mehrotra said on "We really see a healthier and more robust demand environment than ever." Micron — which makes memory chips used for data storage, smartphones and a range of other computing devices — reported better-than-expected on Wednesday. Its fourth-quarter revenue guidance also topped analyst projections. The chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, plus or minus $200 million, while analysts on average were expecting $7.87 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. In its fiscal third quarter, Micron's revenue jumped 36% to $7.42 billion, when Wall Street had been looking for $7.24 billion, according to Refinitiv. Per-share earnings of $1.88, excluding items, beat forecasts of $1.72. The pandemic has resulted in a "digital transformation acceleration," Mehrotra said, and a pronounced shortage of semiconductors that's rippled across the global economy. On