MILPITAS, Calif., March 18, 2026, 13:37 PDT
New research out in the last 48 hours has given more fuel to the Sandisk AI story. Analysts at Seeking Alpha, Simply Wall St, and Zacks point out that flash storage demand in data centers hasn’t cooled, despite the stock’s steep run-up. Shares of Sandisk climbed 4.6%, closing at $753.69 in late Wednesday trading. Seeking Alpha
Timing is key here, as AI investment is moving past just graphics chips, pushing into memory and storage gear that handles massive data loads. Nvidia, for its part, told investors this week that revenue from its AI chips could hit at least $1 trillion by 2027. Technalysis Research president Bob O’Donnell called the company’s recent moves a game-changer, saying they’ve “upleveled the entire discussion” around infrastructure. Reuters
The story now is inference—AI models responding to prompts, a process that hinges on shuttling heavy data loads through servers at speed. “The inference inflection has arrived,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared this week. Micron followed up Wednesday, topping quarterly revenue forecasts and offering up a robust third-quarter outlook. That’s a clear signal for memory suppliers riding the same wave. Reuters
Recent Sandisk coverage circled the same theme but took different tacks. Seeking Alpha flagged Sandisk’s “quiet AI boom,” citing management’s margin guidance for the next quarter at 65% to 67%, and current gross margins north of 50%. Zacks zeroed in on the surging appetite for high-capacity, low-latency NAND flash — the tech behind solid-state drives. Simply Wall St, meanwhile, called out solid earnings and extended data-center contracts, even as their valuation numbers landed elsewhere. Seeking Alpha
Back in January, Sandisk posted fiscal Q2 revenue of $3.03 billion—a 61% jump from last year. Data-center sales surged 76% to $440 million. For the third quarter, the company projected revenue between $4.4 billion and $4.8 billion, and non-GAAP earnings ranging from $12 to $14 per share. sec.gov
Back then, Chief Executive David Goeckeler told Reuters, “Customers prefer supply over price,” as AI developers rushed to secure storage for inference tasks. Sandisk and Kioxia renewed their flash supply deals, stretching them out to 2034. That move gives the company a longer runway on manufacturing capacity. Reuters
Other players are reporting much of the same. Micron, a key memory chip supplier for AI, beat analyst estimates Wednesday. Western Digital, which shed Sandisk last year, said back in February that surging AI infrastructure demand was boosting its numbers, as it aimed to trim debt by offloading more of its Sandisk holding. Reuters
On valuation, opinions diverge sharply on Sandisk. Seeking Alpha points to the stock still making sense against certain 2027 earnings projections. But over at Simply Wall St, one fair-value model pegs shares close to $717, almost matching the recent $720 close. Zacks, meanwhile, flags that Sandisk fetches a steeper forward sales multiple than its storage-device peers. Seeking Alpha
The memory sector’s cycle doesn’t disappear just because AI is snapping up more chips. Supply could catch up fast, and execution risk looms—both flagged by Seeking Alpha. Sandisk, for its part, spelled out in SEC filings that sharp price shifts, heavy reliance on a few buyers, trade policy twists, and rival maneuvers might hit results without much warning. Seeking Alpha
There’s a supply-side wildcard, too. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, speaking this week, flagged a possible global wafer shortage stretching out to 2030—an indication the market remains tight. Yet, with the latest Sandisk comments, investors seem more confident about demand than about the staying power of current pricing. Reuters
