Quick Read
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Samsung's net profit miss dragged SNDK and MU down 5% each hours before Sandisk tests its massive 461% year-to-date gain with after-close earnings.
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Hard-drive makers WDC and STX each fell just 1%, while SOXX dropped 2%, as selling concentrated in pure NAND and DRAM memory names.
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The memory rally from October 28 is turning back just hours before Sandisk( NASDAQ:SNDK ) reports, and memory makers are taking the hardest hit. Sandisk stock trades at $1,330.60, down 5%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF( NASDAQ:SOXX ) is at $509.21, down 2%; meanwhile, the broader market, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust( NYSEARCA:SPY ), is at $767.11, down 0.7%.
Micron Technology( NASDAQ:MU ) stock is at $930.23, down 5%, as the selling spreads across the group. The SOXX ETF's softer decline shows the pressure is concentrated in memory names like Sandisk and Micron.
24/7 Wall St. asked on October 28 whether that day's bounce marked a bottom for Sandisk. That question now runs straight into Sandisk's quarterly report, which lands after the closing bell.
Samsung's Profit Miss Cools Memory Stocks
Samsung Electronics released its quarterly results on October 29, and the AI-driven numbers looked strong on the surface. A record operating profit of approximately 106.5 trillion won at Samsung's chip division reflected demand for AI chips. Even so, quarterly net profit at Samsung came in at 75.136 trillion won, missing the FactSet consensus estimate of 86.13 trillion won.
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Shares of Samsung fell more than 4% in Seoul as high expectations met concerns about AI infrastructure spending and a lack of detail on shareholder returns. Still, Samsung expects tight memory supply. It sees this lasting for the next few years, with multiyear supply contracts projected to cover 60% to 70% of its production capacity by 2030. That supportive outlook didn't stop the selling from reaching Sandisk and Micron.
SK Hynix's Record Quarter Set Up the Reversal
The pullback follows a sharp rally on October 28, when Micron and Sandisk rose after SK Hynix( NASDAQ:SKHY ) posted record results. SK Hynix reported Q3 2026 revenue of 104.6 trillion won ($78.9 billion), up 328% year over year (YoY), and operating profit of 83.3 trillion won, up 632%. The memory maker said demand could outpace supply through 2030, with more than half of its 2027 and 2028 capacity already committed under long-term agreements.
TrendForce expects Q4 2026 NAND contract prices to rise 15% to 20%. It also expects dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) contract prices to rise 10% to 15%, a pricing background that still favors Sandisk.
Sandisk Faces a High Bar After the Close
Sandisk's results are due after the close, and analysts expect $10.64 billion in revenue and earnings per share (EPS) of $46. On August 5, the company guided Q1 FY2027 revenue to $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion and adjusted EPS to $44 to $46. The report could set the tone for Micron too.
The company disclosed on August 5 that its Q4 FY2026 revenue reached $8.96 billion, up 371.6% YoY. Sandisk also beat earnings estimates in that report.
Micron and SK Hynix Diverge From Sandisk
Micron's 5.39% decline is a touch steeper than Sandisk's 5.28%, which cuts against the idea that the NAND specialist would take the worst of the hit. SK Hynix stock is at $159.41, down 3%. That softer drop comes a day after SK Hynix delivered its own record report.
Hard-drive makers are holding up better than Sandisk. Western Digital stock is at $392.38, down 1%. Meanwhile, Seagate Technology stock is at $690.77, down 1%.
How Sandisk's Business Model Stands Apart
Sandisk is a pure-play NAND flash maker that completed its separation from Western Digital on February 21, 2025. That focus ties Sandisk directly to NAND pricing, where Samsung's miss hit sentiment hardest, while Micron spreads its exposure across DRAM, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and NAND, with heavy AI demand behind its HBM business.
SK Hynix leads the HBM market and also sells DRAM and NAND. Western Digital is now a pure-play hard-drive company. Seagate builds drives around its heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) Mozaic platform, leaving both less tied to NAND prices than Sandisk.
Sandisk's Report Tests a Massive Run
Sandisk stock is up 461% year to date (YTD), even after a steep pullback over the past month. Micron has gained 226% YTD.
Sandisk's upcoming guidance will reveal whether NAND pricing and datacenter demand are holding up. Supporting the bull case, TrendForce's pricing outlook and CEO David Goeckeler's comment on the August 5 call: "We continue to get more bullish on the requirements for NAND." The bears can point to Samsung's miss and softer cloud spending signals. It may make sense to wait until Sandisk's earnings reaction resolves.
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