The Boise fab was a result of the CHIPS act (so tech sovereignty rather than because of AI), and they recently tacked on an R&D expansion to that due to the AI boom. https://boisedev.com/news/2026/08/20/micron-to-build-10-bill...

That's the death trap of silicon boom-bust cycles that have claimed so many in the industry. Demand surges, you start expanding, the bust arrives, you go out of business.

Micron is putting up over $100 billion for this expansion wave IIRC. You can't afford that unless you are certain the increase in demand is sustainable.

You want to assure investors that investment will pay off so you want to talk up your order book and market outlook.

You also want to take as much profit as you can now so if things turn against you it doesn't mean bankruptcy. A pile of cash fixes many problems :)