- Western Digital shares rose 3.7% after SanDisk's AI storage commentary, trading at $464.52 and reaching a session high of $474.54.
- SanDisk said data centers now make up the majority of NAND flash demand, and large AI models require scalable storage, lifting demand visibility via multi-year supply agreements.
- Western Digital completed the SanDisk separation, leaving WDC focused on high-capacity HDDs and data center storage while SanDisk targets NAND and SSD demand.
- The split sets up two focused storage platforms; analyst narrative sees WDC revenue of $32.1B and earnings of $15.2B by 2029, with customer concentration as the biggest risk.
- The advance was sector-specific: NASDAQ Composite rose 0.4%, S&P 500 was flat, and Dow Jones Industrial Average traded slightly lower.
Quotes
“artificial intelligence inference is hitting a "memory wall," creating a surge in demand for high-capacity storage.”
“Data centers now account for the majority of NAND flash demand.”
“SanDisk has signed multiple strategic multi-year supply agreements, improving demand visibility for the industry.”
“Western Digital has completed the separation of SanDisk into an independent flash-focused business, leaving Western Digital concentrated on high-capacity HDDs and data center storage while SanDisk targets NAND and SSD demand across datacenter, edge, and consumer markets.”
“The biggest risk right now is how concentrated that customer base is.”