SanDisk Shares Surge on AI-Driven NAND Flash Demand

Shares of SanDisk surged 21.5% on July 30, 2026, recovering from a nearly 37% decline over the previous four trading days. This volatility follows a year in which the company's stock grew over 2,300%, propelled by a sharp increase in NAND flash memory prices. The price spike stems from AI data center server demand outstripping supply, with AI servers expected to account for 44% of NAND flash demand in 2026 and 51% in 2027.

The supply shortage is intensified by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both of which reduced NAND flash wafer output to prioritize high-bandwidth memory. Market research from TrendForce Corp. and Phison indicates that prices more than doubled in the second half of 2026, while Gardener projects a 234% price increase this year.

Investors remain divided over the company's long-term trajectory. While some fear that Chinese manufacturers, including the newly public ChangXin Memory Technologies, may flood the market with cheap chips, others point to aggressive spending on AI capacity by hyperscalers such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. HSBC analyst Alastair Pinder suggests that despite recent selling, the investment in AI memory chips provides significant upside. Analysts project continued earnings growth for the company through fiscal 2028.