The Rundown Deep Dive: How Sandisk Became the Hottest Stock in the S&P 500
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Feb 7, 2026 A deep look at how a storage maker surged to the top of the S&P 500. Covers what NAND flash memory is and how it powers devices and data centers. Explores how AI data center demand rewired the memory market and sparked price and margin explosions. Examines multi-year supply deals, the risk of overbuilding, and the psychology of chasing a massive rally.
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From SD Cards To A Standalone Comeback
- SanDisk co-created the SD card and was widely known for USB drives and consumer storage products.
- Western Digital bought SanDisk in 2016 and spun it back out in February 2025, after which the stock surged ~1,500%.
NAND Is The Backbone Of Modern Storage
- SanDisk makes NAND flash memory which stores data without power and underpins most modern devices.
- Its business splits into consumer, edge, and data center segments, with edge currently the largest at ~55% of revenue.
AI Is Supercharging Data Center Sales
- Data center sales are only ~15% of revenue but are the fastest-growing segment due to AI demand.
- SanDisk reported data center growth of about 64% quarter over quarter in the latest earnings report.