$22 Billion in Customer Deposits Did Not Stop This Chip CEO From Selling $37 Million

Joel South

Sun, August 23, 2026 at 11:12 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Quick Read

Micron (MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold $37 million in shares a month before announcing $22 billion in deposits and demand outpacing supply by 50%.
Three Micron executives sold shares at prices reaching $1,095 in July, even as take-or-pay contracts locked in roughly $100 billion in minimum revenue.
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From a construction site at Micron Technology's (NASDAQ:MU) Boise fab on Wednesday night, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra delivered the most bullish demand statement of his tenure. He told Jim Cramer that customers have put down $22 billion in cash deposits on take-or-pay contracts and still want 50% more memory than Micron can commit. Cramer called the Boise site "exhibit A" that America still has manufacturing.

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One month earlier, Mehrotra was a seller. On July 24, 2026, he disposed of 40,000 shares at prices ranging from roughly $906 to $966, worth about $37 million. The insider filing shows the sale executed across 40 separate lots, with reported execution prices between $906.48 and $965.85.

The stock has kept climbing. Micron closed at $974.33 on August 20, meaning Mehrotra left money on the table if the sale was discretionary. Shares are up 241.59% year to date and 732.62% over one year. That is the tension worth studying.

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What the $22 Billion Actually Is

On the fiscal Q3 call, Mehrotra told analysts: "Under the SEAs we have signed so far, we project to receive cash deposits and related financial commitments of $22 billion." CFO Mark Murphy clarified that roughly $18 billion of that is cash deposits, with the balance in letters of credit, and that about $10 billion of deposits are expected to land in fiscal Q4.

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Murphy framed the structure directly: "It's not a prepayment. It's a separate commitment by the customers and a reflection of the fact that we have a binding agreement and these are take or pay agreements." Fourteen of the 16 signed agreements represent roughly $100 billion in cumulative revenue at minimum prices over the term. Floor pricing supports gross margins "well above our peak quarterly margins in any past cycle."

Fiscal Q3 revenue hit $41.46 billion, a 17.60% beat and 345.72% year-over-year growth, with non-GAAP EPS of $25.11. Q4 guidance calls for $50.0 billion in revenue and $31.00 EPS.

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Mehrotra Was Not the Only Insider Selling

The July disposal window was broader. Chief Accounting Officer Scott Allen sold 879 shares at $1,000.00 on July 23, plus two July 15 lots at $983.12. Chief People Officer April Arnzen sold on July 1 across 18 lots priced between $1,077.05 and $1,095.88, including a single lot of 10,497 shares at $1,079.99. Three named executive officers exited stock into the run.

Fair Reading for MU Holders

The supplied filings data does not itself confirm a Rule 10b5-1 plan designation for Mehrotra's July 24 sale. The filings response returned 8-K records but no Form 4 with plan footnote language, so investors should read the Form 4 footnote directly before drawing conclusions on intent.

Two facts sit side by side. Demand exceeds committed supply by half, backed by binding deposits. The CEO, accounting chief, and people chief all sold into strength in July. The next test is December 9, the second anniversary of the CHIPS agreements, when Micron intends to increase its capital return.