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Investors Dumped These 3 AI Stocks After Earnings. They'll Regret It.

newsfeedback@fool.com (Geoffrey Seiler)
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Three AI-driven tech giants—Micron, Amazon, and Microsoft—faced post-earnings sell-offs in March 2026 despite reporting strong financials, with investors overlooking long-term growth drivers in favor of short-term profit-taking. Micron secured its first five-year HBM supply deal, reducing cyclicality in its memory business, yet its stock dropped despite tripled revenue ($23.9B) and 74.4% gross margins, as markets anticipated a DRAM price cycle peak. Amazon’s AWS revenue grew 24%—its fastest in three years—but a $200B capex plan for AI data centers spooked investors, ignoring its history of high-ROI spending and partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic. Microsoft’s Azure cloud revenue surged 39% for the 10th straight quarter, backed by a $625B backlog and OpenAI’s $250B commitment, yet shares fell despite trading at a low 20.5 forward P/E. All three stocks trade at historically cheap valuations (P/E <28) despite dominant AI infrastructure positions, suggesting the sell-offs reflect market myopia rather than fundamental weaknesses.
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By Geoffrey Seiler – Mar 25, 2026 at 1:45PM ESTKey PointsMicron's shift to long-term commitments should help boost its stock.Amazon is starting to see its cloud computing revenue accelerate.Microsoft's huge cloud computing backlog should give it a boost.Just because a company reports strong earnings doesn't mean its stock is going to go up. Let's look at three artificial intelligence (AI) stocks that investors dumped that they'll regret selling.

Micron Micron Technology (MU 3.35%) reported what was arguably the best earnings report of any major AI company, yet it wasn't enough to keep its stock from trading lower. Its fiscal second-quarter revenue surged nearly threefold to $23.9 billion, while its gross margins climbed from 36.8% a year ago to 74.4%. And its fiscal third-quarter guidance for revenue between $32.75 billion and $34.25 billion crushed analyst expectations for $24.3 billion. The biggest reason for the sell-off appears to be a combination of profit taking and the market anticipating an end to the current super cycle in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that is lifting prices. However, this ignores one of the most important things to come out of Micron's earnings report: The company was able to lock in its first-ever five-year strategic customer commitment for high bandwidth memory (HBM). This is a big shift away from its customary one-year agreements, and helps add increased visibility while reducing the cyclical nature of its business. ExpandNASDAQ: MUMicron TechnologyToday's Change(-3.35%) $-13.27Current Price$382.26Key Data PointsMarket Cap$446BDay's Range$371.56 - $388.9252wk Range$61.54 - $471.34Volume1.9MAvg Vol37MGross Margin58.54%Dividend Yield0.12% With HBM demand directly tied to the market for graphics processing units (GPU) and AI chips, there is no reason for Micron's stock to trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) below 4.5 based on fiscal 2027 analyst estimates. Its business looks set to become less cyclical, making it a stock investors will regret selling off after earnings. Amazon Shares of Amazon (AMZN +2.18%) sold off after earnings, despite the company seeing its growth in cloud computing revenue accelerate and continued strong operating leverage in its e-commerce operations. The biggest focus around the business is Amazon Web Services (AWS), which saw its revenue climb 24% in the fourth quarter, its fastest rate in more than three years. ExpandNASDAQ: AMZNAmazonToday's Change(2.18%) $4.52Current Price$211.76Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.2TDay's Range$209.90 - $213.0452wk Range$161.38 - $258.60Volume1.5MAvg Vol49MGross Margin50.29% However, investors seemed more concerned about the $200 billion in capital expenditures the company plans this year, largely focused on increasing AI data center capacity to help drive cloud growth. That should not be a worry, though, as Amazon has a long history of spending big to win big, and has demonstrated strong returns on its investments over the years. Partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI help provide a clear path for continued strong cloud growth. At the same time, AI and robotics are driving increased efficiency in its e-commerce operations, leading to strong operating leverage in this business. Trading at a forward P/E of 27.5, the stock is at one of its lowest historical valuations, and investors will likely regret selling off the shares after earnings. Image source: Getty Images. Microsoft Microsoft (MSFT 0.66%) is another tech giant that sold off following its earnings, despite posting strong results. The company saw its fiscal second-quarter revenue climb 17%, led by a 39% surge in sales from its Azure cloud computing unit. It was the tenth consecutive quarter that Azure revenue has risen by 30% or more. And it's well-positioned to continue to see strong revenue growth. The company has a huge $625 billion in commercial remaining performance obligations (RPOs), helped by a huge commitment from OpenAI, and to a lesser extent from Anthropic. ExpandNASDAQ: MSFTMicrosoftToday's Change(-0.66%) $-2.44Current Price$370.30Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.8TDay's Range$369.75 - $377.0652wk Range$344.79 - $555.45Volume1.4MAvg Vol35MGross Margin68.59%Dividend Yield0.93% Last fall, Microsoft reworked its investment with OpenAI, where it now has a 32.5% stake in the company, intellectual property rights for both its models and products through 2032, and $250 billion in additional incremental cloud computing commitments. At the same time, its software businesses are also performing well, helped by the continued adoption of its AI assistant copilots. Trading at a forward P/E of 20.5 based on a fiscal 2027 analyst consensus, the stock is just too cheap for a premier enterprise software company that is also seeing huge growth in cloud computing revenue.Read NextMar 25, 2026 •By Parkev Tatevosian, CFAThis Is Arguably the Most Important Financial Update for Stock Market Investors!Mar 25, 2026 •By Keithen DruryPrediction: Micron Will Be One of the Best-Performing Stocks of 2026Mar 25, 2026 •By Harsh ChauhanWhere Will Micron Technology Stock Be in 2030?Mar 25, 2026 •By Keithen Drury3 Reasons Why Micron Is a Brilliant Stock to BuyMar 25, 2026 •By Manali Pradhan, CFAThis Hidden AI Stock Is Up 40% in a Year, and Wall Street Just Raised Its Price Target to $500Mar 24, 2026 •By Daniel SparksDespite Rising More Than 300% in 1 Year, Micron Stock Looks Cheap.

But Is It a Buy?About the AuthorGeoffrey Seiler is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, and materials stocks. Prior to The Motley Fool, Geoffrey was a senior equity analyst at Raging Capital Management, a $600 million long-short hedge fund. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Haverford College.TMFFindProfitStocks MentionedMicron TechnologyNASDAQ: MU$382.26(-3.35%)-$13.27MicrosoftNASDAQ: MSFT$370.22(-0.68%)-$2.52AmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$211.62(+2.11%)+$4.38*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.

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