NEW YORK, July 19, 2026, 11:07 EDT
U.S. markets were closed Sunday. SanDisk ended Friday at $1,354.82, down 29.3% across five sessions. Preliminary estimate: holding Friday’s share count constant, the fall erased about $88 billion.
The decline left shares 42% below their June 25 closing peak. Even so, the stock remained up 471% during 2026.
The important shift is in expectations. MarketWatch, using LSEG data, put SanDisk at 6.4 times forward earnings, down from 13.6.
A derived calculation gives the remaining hurdle. Friday’s price divided by 6.4 implies about $212 of forward earnings per share. That is 68% above a simple annualization of SanDisk’s $31.50 fourth-quarter guidance midpoint. It is not company guidance.
The comparison suggests the apparent bargain still assumes another large profit step-up. The selloff compressed valuation faster than it reset projected earnings.
SanDisk also lagged relevant storage and memory benchmarks:
| Security | Friday close or level | Five-session move |
|---|---|---|
| SanDisk NASDAQ:SNDK | $1,354.82 | -29.3% |
| Western Digital NASDAQ:WDC | $477.22 | -18.1% |
| Micron Technology NASDAQ:MU | $848.95 | -13.3% |
| PHLX Semiconductor Index (INDEXNASDAQ:SOX) | 11,673.89 | -10.0% |
SanDisk underperformed the chip index by 19.3 percentage points. It also fell more than either storage peer. Calculations use July 10 and July 17 closes.
Recent operating data explain why expectations remain high. Fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 97% sequentially to $5.95 billion. Datacenter revenue jumped 233% to $1.47 billion, while gross margin reached 78.4%.
For the fourth quarter, SanDisk forecast revenue of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion. It guided non-GAAP earnings to $30-$33 per share and margins to 79%-81%.
Chief Executive David Goeckeler called the quarter a “fundamental inflection point.” He said customer commitments were producing “structurally higher and more durable earnings power.” SanDisk reported $41.6 billion in remaining performance obligations, mainly from long-term agreements. SEC
But last week’s market treated memory as cyclical again. Toni Meadows, investment head at BRI Wealth Management, said valuations had priced “near-perfect demand.” She linked the reversal to profit-taking and scrutiny of AI spending durability. Reuters
Next week’s test comes from customers and chipmakers. Alphabet NASDAQ:GOOGL reports Wednesday, while Intel NASDAQ:INTC reports later. Their spending and demand commentary could move semiconductor expectations.
SanDisk has no scheduled investor event next week. Fourth-quarter results arrive August 5, followed by an investor day on August 13.
Risks: SanDisk’s top 10 customers supplied 46% of recent quarterly revenue. Falling NAND prices, weaker AI spending or new supply could squeeze margins quickly.
The central question is no longer whether the multiple is low. It is whether earnings can approach the roughly $212 level embedded within it. That gap will frame trading until August’s results.
Related articles: NASDAQ:SNDK
