Stock Market Surprises: Micron's AI Boom, Nike's Innovation Shift, and FedEx's Winning Strategy!

As the earnings season winds down, let's review some of the key updates from this week:

- Micron (MU) made headlines on Wednesday after-hours with its remarkable results and guidance, leading Wall Street to hail the Boise, Idaho-based memory maker as the next major beneficiary of AI. 

The company's shares surged by as much as 18% the following day, reaching highs not witnessed since the turn of the millennium.

- Sportswear giant Nike (NKE) reported strong Q3 earnings on Thursday after-hours, surpassing consensus estimates for margins and EPS. 

Additionally, Lululemon Athletica (LULU) also delivered impressive results, beating expectations on both revenue and profit.

Looking ahead, Nike cautioned about a potential short-term revenue decline as it shifts focus towards innovation. 

In contrast, Lululemon's guidance for revenue and profit was more cautious, citing sluggish demand trends in specific categories.

- FedEx (FDX) reported an EPS beat on Thursday, driven by cost savings in its Express business and improved FQ3 margins.

In total, eight S&P 500 companies reported results for the week ending March 22, with seven surpassing EPS estimates and only one meeting expectations.

General Mills (GIS), Micron (MU), Nike (NKE), Accenture (ACN), FedEx (FDX), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), and FactSet (FDS) all exceeded EPS estimates this week, while only Darden Restaurants (DRI) met expectations.

To date, 73.1% of the 495 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings have surpassed EPS expectations, while 22.6% have fallen short. Regarding revenue, 66.7% have beaten expectations.

Looking ahead, five S&P 500 companies are slated to report results next week, including Carnival (CCL) on Wednesday and Walgreens (WBA) on Thursday. 

CCL has surpassed EPS estimates five times in the last eight quarters, while WBA has exceeded expectations seven times over the same period.