Micron and Sandisk Are Up Big During the Past Year. Can the Run Continue? - The Motley Fool

Micron and Sandisk have delivered extraordinary stock performance over the past year, with returns of 700% and over 3,800%, respectively. This surge is primarily driven by the booming demand for memor... Read original →

Micron and SanDisk’s rally reflects a fundamental shift: AI infrastructure now demands memory bandwidth as critically as compute. Technologically, HBM3e and CXL memory pooling are accelerating DRAM scaling to 1β/1α nodes, while 300+ layer NAND pushes EUV adoption beyond logic into critical flash layers—reshaping yield economics. On compliance, U.S. export controls compel both firms to relocate mature-node capacity to Japan, India, and the U.S., inflating capex and supply chain complexity. Competitively, Samsung and SK Hynix are countering with AI-optimized memory SKUs and long-term offtake agreements with Nvidia and Alphabet, building ecosystem moats. Over the next 12–24 months, even if hyperscaler capex moderates, edge AI and on-device LLMs will sustain demand for mid-tier memory—but a collective industry capacity surge risks oversupply by 2027, threatening today’s valuation premiums.