SanDisk Shares Plummet as Chinese Chipmaker CXMT Debuts

Shares of SanDisk Inc. plummeted 31% between Thursday evening and July 28, 2026, marking three consecutive days of declines exceeding 10%. The sell-off followed the initial public offering of Chinese chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. CXMT raised over $8 billion and saw its stock surge 466% on its first day of trading, reaching a market capitalization of $487 billion.

While CXMT focuses on DRAM memory and SanDisk Inc. specializes in NAND flash memory, investors fear CXMT will eventually introduce a NAND competitor. This potential expansion threatens SanDisk Inc.'s high gross profit margins, which recently exceeded 78%. CXMT is positioning its products to solve a global computer memory deficit that had previously inflated prices and boosted SanDisk Inc.'s profits. Apple Inc. is reportedly seeking to purchase DRAM chips from CXMT to address this deficit.

Adding to the volatility, Wolfe Research warned that broader instability in the artificial intelligence economy and potential cuts to AI infrastructure budgets could further weigh on SanDisk Inc.'s share price.