Sandisk, Western Digital Slide 10% on Soft Guidance
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- Sandisk (SNDK) fell roughly 10% in pre-market trading despite beating quarterly estimates with record Q4 revenue of $8.97 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $39.25.
- Western Digital (WDC) dropped a similar amount after reporting Q4 revenue of $3.75 billion (up 44% YoY) with gross margin of 54.4% — a solid print, but not the blowout investors expected after its 550%+ 12-month run.
- Sandisk's Q1 revenue outlook of $10.7 billion missed the $11.2 billion consensus, and its EPS guidance also fell short; its board separately approved an additional $14 billion share buyback, bringing total authorization to $15.5 billion.
- Both stocks have run 3,000%+ (SNDK) and 550%+ (WDC) over the past year on the AI storage boom, yet now trade roughly 50% below their all-time highs.
- Bitcoin holds above $64,000 and shrugged off the Coldcard exploit with little reaction, while gold has climbed more than 7% in recent days — fueling a rotation thesis out of crowded AI winners into crypto and precious metals.
Why it matters: After 12-month gains of 3,000%+ and 550%+, both Sandisk and Western Digital now sit roughly 50% below their all-time highs, suggesting the AI storage trade may be losing steam. With gold up 7%+ in days and bitcoin holding above $64,000, the rotation narrative out of AI winners into crypto and hard assets gets fresh ammunition.
