By Daniel Sparks
Publication Date: 2026-10-21 07:44:00
Two chipmakers are carrying an unusual share of the market’s profit growth. In its Oct. 16 Earnings Insight report, FactSet listed Micron Technology (MU -0.98%) and Nvidia (NVDA -0.29%) as the two biggest contributors to year-over-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.28%) in the third quarter of 2026.
FactSet’s blended growth rate of the index, which mixes reported results with estimates for companies yet to report, is at 29%. Without Micron and Nvidia, it would drop to 20%. Said another way, two companies are providing about 9 percentage points of the growth in an index of 500.
Their stocks have been moving the other way. As of this writing, Nvidia shares are around $217 and have lost 9% since their Oct. 6 record close. Micron is near $905, about 25% below its June 25 record close of $1,213.56.
I think this gap between what these companies earn and what their shares cost makes both stocks worth buying today.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Micron’s share is already reported
Micron’s part of FactSet’s number is an actual result, not a forecast. The memory maker’s fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, which ended Sept. 3 and was reported on Sept. 30, goes into FactSet’s third-quarter total.
Micron’s non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share came in at $33.42, a gain of over 1,000% from the $3.03 it earned in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 379% year over year to $54.2 billion.
Notably, the margin expansion behind that rise looks like it’s mostly played out. Micron’s GAAP…
