Micron Is Making Record Profits, But a Taiwan Union Just Voted 99% to Authorize a Strike

Micron (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) just reported the largest profits in its history. On Oct 7, 2026, the union at its Taoyuan, Taiwan operation said members voted 1,994 to 14 to authorize a strike over how those profits are split. Taiwan produced a majority of Micron’s DRAM output in 2025.

Yes votes were 99% of ballots cast, or 88.3% of the union’s 2,258 eligible members. The vote only authorizes a strike. No strike has been called, and no date or deadline has been set.

Shares fell about 2.8% before the open on the news. They then turned after an analyst set a Street-high price target and closed up 4.06% at $1,088.00.

What the Union Is Actually Asking For

The union wants 15% of operating profit paid out through what it calls “an open and transparent profit-sharing system,” replacing Micron’s current incentive plan.

Union chair Jerry Lin spoke. He said, “We haven’t decided on an actual strike schedule yet.” The union is waiting for a Micron board meeting before deciding what to do next.

Members are being urged to take Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, off for a rally on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard. The union itself says the rally is “not a strike.” Micron has said it takes the concerns seriously and is committed to good-faith engagement and mediation.

Micron employs about 15,000 people in Taiwan, and the Taoyuan and Taichung unions together represent more than 80% of them.

The larger Taichung union, with about 11,000 members, has not voted. It goes back to mediation with Micron on Oct. 22, 2026.

Taichung has enough members to slow output, making whatever it decides after mediation the bigger risk for Micron.

Record Profits Hand the Union Its Argument

Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $54.23 billion, up from $11.32 billion a year earlier. GAAP net income came in at $37.70 billion on a gross margin of 86.8%.

Fiscal 2026 net income was $84.97 billion, compared with $8.54 billion the year before. Chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra said, “Micron delivered record fiscal 2026 results, and we expect an even stronger fiscal 2027.”

At that margin, production costs take up only a small share of each sales dollar, making a bigger payout cheap for Micron and hard to refuse publicly.

Micron did announce a cash bonus for Taiwan staff in September worth about US$31,600, plus equity. The union wants payouts like that set by a formula instead of left to management.

Samsung Already Set the Price of a Settlement

Samsung’s union called off a planned strike in May 2026 after a deal that set a bonus pool at 10.5% of chip-division operating profit.

That figure is below what Taoyuan is asking for and gives Micron a regional benchmark, and a deal in that range is much more likely than a stoppage.

Even a strike would hit a market that is short on supply. Management said it does “not have line of sight to when supply and demand will return to balance,”. When memory is tight, lost output pushes prices up for every seller, including Micron.

Micron is earning record profits. Management expects “greater tightness in the industry in 27 and in 28 versus 26,” and this dispute looks far more likely to end in a bonus pool than a closing.

The bear case is real. The stock is up 281.44% year to date, much of its DRAM output depends on one jurisdiction, and the larger union has not voted yet.

The test is Oct 22, 2026. If Taichung leaves mediation and schedules its own strike vote, the case for holding the stock drops, but if Micron’s board offers a profit-sharing formula before then, expect the dispute to blow over.

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