Sandisk stock is up over 100% in 2026; Is SNDK still a buy?

Often overlooked because of its relatively modest market capitalization, Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) is emerging as one of the best-performing stocks this year.

Continuing the rally set in motion in summer 2025, the California-based storage technology company is up more than 100% year-to-date, sharply outperforming its larger competitors.

At press time, SNDK shares were trading at $501.29, up from $275.25 on January 2.

For comparison, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), the undisputed leader in the sector, is down 3% over the same period, while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is down 6%.

The impressive growth has largely been the result of the company’s separation from Western Digital in early 2025, which acquired it in 2016 to gain access to Sandisk’s NAND flash memory technology. 

Following the spin-off, the newly independent company attracted strong investor interest, as its products are used across consumer electronics such as smartphones, laptops, cameras, and gaming systems, with the most profitable segment remaining edge computing, that is, vehicles, drones, and security systems.

Is Sandisk stock a buy?

While edge computing has pushed the stock up to new all-time highs, the management has expressed belief that data centers are the next major long-term growth engine. 

“With investments in data centers and AI infrastructure expected to surpass $1 trillion by 2030, the demand for NAND storage products capable of processing large volumes of data quickly and efficiently is increasing dramatically, creating a strong tailwind for our high-capacity power-efficient SSDs enabled by our BiCS8 technology,” said CEO David Goeckeler in a Q1 2026 earnings call on November 6, 2025.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Sandisk reported revenue of $2.3 billion, up 23% year over year and ahead of company guidance. Net income totaled $112 million, a notable but still below $211 million a year earlier.

Sandisk is currently working with ‘five major hyperscale customers’, according to a November press release, which are expected to strengthen its data center footprint. With global investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure potentially exceeding $1 trillion by 2030, Sandisk stands to capitalize on both its standard NAND tech and new these frontiers.

Although past success does not guarantee new gains, solid execution could indeed put the company on the runway as demand for AI-driven storage accelerates. All eyes are now on the next earnings report scheduled for January 26, which, if solid, has the potential to become another major tailwind. 

Featured image via Shutterstock