Featured News Headlines
SanDisk Stock Surges Amid S&P 500 Inclusion
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) made its official debut in the S&P 500 today, and the stock behaved exactly as a newly promoted index heavyweight often does—volatile, highly traded, and under intense market scrutiny.
As of the Friday session on November 28, 2025, SanDisk shares were trading near $221, up roughly 2.8% from Wednesday’s close after bouncing between an intraday low just above $211 and a high above $237. Trading volume hovered around 8.7 million shares, consistent with the stock’s already elevated recent activity. According to multiple market-data outlets, the stock’s movements today reflected both the mechanical effects of index inclusion and broader enthusiasm for the flash-memory turnaround story.
S&P 500 Debut Drives Market Turbulence
SanDisk joined the S&P 500 before today’s opening bell, replacing Interpublic Group after its acquisition by Omnicom. This single index change set off several immediate reactions across markets.
One of the primary drivers was the so-called index buying wave, a mechanical surge in demand as trillions of dollars in passive strategies rebalance. As reported by various outlets, this pattern is predictable: funds tracking the index must add the new component, creating a burst of forced buying that often lifts liquidity and volatility.
The stock’s intraday range reflected that dynamic. Market sources described SanDisk’s trading band as stretching from roughly $211.7 to $237.3, a swing of more than 11% in a single session. Options desks also highlighted a meaningful rise in activity, with call volume running at roughly four times typical levels early in the day. Some analysts attributed that spike to traders positioning for near-term index-related flows rather than long-term fundamental convictions.
Even with this turbulence, SanDisk remains on track for a mid-teens percentage gain for November, continuing the momentum the stock has shown throughout the fall.
From Spin-Off to Large-Cap Contender
SanDisk’s inclusion in the S&P 500 marks a dramatic milestone for a company that became independent less than a year ago. The firm separated from Western Digital on February 24, 2025, with shareholders receiving one-third of a SanDisk share for every Western Digital share they owned.
The newly listed SanDisk began trading around $50 and ended its first full session near $48.60. Since then, the stock has climbed into the $220–$230 range, representing a gain of roughly 350% in nine months. Depending on the baseline used, some analysts calculate the company’s 2025 run-up at more than 500%.
SanDisk now holds a market capitalization in the low-$30 billions, large enough to graduate from the S&P SmallCap 600 straight into the S&P 500—a rare path for a recent spin-off. Industry researchers have often pointed to AI infrastructure spending, tightening NAND supply, and renewed interest in “picks-and-shovels” data-center beneficiaries as major contributors to this rise.
Earnings: Recovering From the Memory Downcycle
Behind the headline stock performance lies a business still recovering from the severe memory-market downturn that affected the industry through 2024 and early 2025.
SanDisk’s fiscal 2025, which ended mid-year, reflected much of that weakness. The company posted revenue of $7.36 billion, a modest improvement, but still reported a GAAP loss of roughly $1.6 billion. However, the final quarter of the fiscal year showed signs of stabilization, with sequential revenue of $1.90 billion and improving margins.
Management guided for stronger results in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, and those expectations proved too conservative. On November 6, 2025, SanDisk reported Q1 FY26 revenue of $2.31 billion, up both sequentially and year over year. The company recorded GAAP net income of $112 million and non-GAAP EPS of $1.22, signaling a return to sustained profitability.
Executives also issued upbeat guidance for Q2 FY26, forecasting revenue of $2.55–$2.65 billion and non-GAAP EPS between $3.00 and $3.40.
AI Demand Fuels Segment Momentum
SanDisk has reorganized its business into Datacenter, Edge, and Consumer segments, and all three posted sequential growth in Q1. The strongest gains came from datacenter and edge SSDs, categories closely tied to AI infrastructure spending. Industry reports indicate that SanDisk is now ramping its BiCS8-based SSDs and working through several hyperscaler qualifications that could continue to lift revenue through 2026.
While the stock’s performance has been extraordinary, analysts note that the company’s recovery is still underway. Profitability has only recently returned, and SanDisk remains in the early stages of a broader upcycle in flash memory.
[…] reveals a slight uptick of 0.05%, which contrasts with declines across both its sector and the S&P 500 index. This indicates that, despite short-term volatility, the stock has maintained relative stability […]