Sandisk Outlook Pulls Memory Stocks Lower
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- Sandisk (SNDK) projected fiscal first-quarter revenue of $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion and adjusted earnings of $44 to $46 per share, both above Wall Street estimates, yet the stock still fell sharply before the opening bell.
- Western Digital (WDC) dropped by double digits in the sector-wide selloff, with the ticker showing a -13.03% move tied to the Sandisk outlook reaction.
- Micron and Seagate each fell roughly 4% (tickers showing MU -1.31% and STX +1.83%), while SK Hynix dropped -4.97% and Samsung suffered steep declines in South Korea trading.
- The reaction reflects how high expectations have climbed after memory and storage stocks surged on AI data-center demand — strong results are no longer enough when investors have already priced in continued growth and higher memory prices.
- Data-center demand remains healthy, the article notes, but weaker consumer-electronics and personal-computer markets could limit some of that momentum for memory-chip makers.
- Investors will next watch memory pricing and data-center orders for signs that the sector's rally can support its elevated valuations.
Why it matters: Even an above-consensus outlook was enough to crater the memory sector — Sandisk fell 6.81%, Western Digital plunged 13.03%, and South Korean heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung took steep hits. When beating estimates no longer satisfies the market, the entire AI memory trade rests on memory pricing and data-center orders sustaining those elevated valuations.
