June 26 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Micron Technology

beat estimates for third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, driven by

a surge in demand for its memory chips from the booming AI

industry and improved pricing in other markets.

Shares of the Idaho-based firm still fell 7.2% in

extended trading after it forecast fourth-quarter revenue

largely in line with expectations. The stock had risen 13% this

month, ahead of earnings, on investor optimism that Micron would

benefit from AI-driven demand.

"Micron's largely inline forecast may have been good

enough two or three months ago, but is not enough to meet

current lofty hopes, especially after a 67% year-to-date rally

in its share price," said Michael Schulman, chief investment

officer at Running Point Capital.

The company forecast revenue of $7.6 billion, plus or

minus $200 million, for the current quarter, compared with an

estimate of $7.6 billion, according to LSEG data.

Micron is one of the few providers of high-bandwidth memory

chips used in the most advanced AI systems, allowing it to cash

in on surging demand for the semiconductors.

"We are very optimistic because after Nvidia ( NVDA ), Micron has

a bigger exposure to AI growth than perhaps any other

semiconductor company," Micron Chief Business Officer Sumit

Sadana said in an interview.

The company said in March that its entire supply of HBM

chips was sold out for 2024, while the majority of the 2025

production had been allocated. The chips are used in the AI

processors designed by Wall Street darling Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Micron reported revenue of $6.81 billion for the third

quarter, compared with an estimate of $6.67 billion, according

to LSEG data.

After Micron's earnings, shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped

1.4%, Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) were down 0.7%, and Intel ( INTC )

slipped 0.4%.