Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) stock has accelerated in 2026 as the company taps into the surging demand for memory processors. Sandisk is a leader in NAND Flash memory, which is used for everything from smartphones to artificial intelligence data centers.

And it's that second category that's helped push Sandisk stock so high.

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Its share price is up an astonishing 857.8% through the end of June, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, as tech companies gobble up all available memory chips for AI data centers.

Here's why Sandisk stock has been a breakout success so far this year, and why it'll likely continue to benefit from the growing memory market.

Investors are riding a massive memory wave with Sandisk

The first impressive share price gains from Sandisk came back in January, when the memory stock surged 143%. Investors were starting to catch on to the fact that as more tech companies invest in AI infrastructure, they'll need far more memory chips.

Some of the biggest technology companies will spend up to $800 billion on capital expenditures (capex) this year, mostly on AI, and part of that spending will trickle down to buying more memory processors.

Rising demand is causing a shortage in memory chip supply, leading to Sandisk and other memory companies, including Micron Technology, to raise their prices. The result of this has caused the gross profit margins for Sandisk to soar to 78% in Q3 2026, compared to just 51% in the year-ago quarter.

Investors were excited to see such high margins, and they appreciated that revenue rose 251% to $5.9 billion and that earnings swung dramatically from a loss of $0.30 per share in the year-ago quarter to earnings of $23.41 per share.

Adding to the optimism for Sandisk's stock this year is the fact that the company signed five multi-year supply agreements with major tech companies, and received $11 billion in guarantees from the deals.

What to expect for the rest of 2026

The big picture here for Sandisk and its shareholders is that demand for memory processors is still very high and will likely help Sandisk continue to generate strong sales and earnings growth, especially through this year and likely longer.

Investors will get more insights when the company reports its fourth-quarter results on Aug. 5. Analysts' consensus estimates are for sales of $8.4 billion and earnings of $34.12 per share.