Key Highlights

● Sandisk slid with memory stocks before reporting after the close on October 29.

● Fiscal first-quarter adjusted Earnings of $49.51 per share beat consensus by $2.36.

● Revenue reached $11.0 billion, ahead of the $10.7 billion analysts expected.

● The company announced an 8-for-1 Stock Split and projected $12.2 billion to $12.6 billion revenue.

Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) fell with other memory stocks during Thursday's session, then delivered a beat, upbeat guidance and an 8-for-1 split after the close to a mixed reception in extended trading.

Down with the pack

Sandisk spent Thursday's regular session moving with the crowd, and the crowd was heading lower. The stock slid during the October 29 session as memory stocks sold off, with reports differing on the exact size of the decline. The flash-storage maker had not yet reported; its quarterly results were due after the bell.

The selling had nothing to do with Sandisk's own numbers, which nobody had seen yet. It reflected a broad cooling in memory and chip stocks after Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)'s Quarterly Report revived anxiety about the cost of the AI buildout. Micron (NASDAQ:MU) also slid, and the PHLX Semiconductor index fell, ending a four-day winning streak.

Why memory got hit

Alphabet's report showed negative free Cash Flow of $9.07 billion, with quarterly capex of $51.36 billion and a warning that 2027 spending will rise significantly. One report said the results "reignited concerns over mounting AI costs." Alphabet went on to suffer its worst day since its 2004 IPO.

Memory and storage are core ingredients in AI data centres, so the group is especially sensitive to any hint that hyperscalers might rethink their budgets. Market commentary described memory names as cooling amid AI capex worries. Overseas, Samsung fell after a profit miss in its chip division, which added to the cautious tone.

The after-the-bell numbers

When Sandisk did report, the figures were strong. Fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $49.51 per share, $2.36 above consensus. Revenue reached $11.0 billion, ahead of the $10.7 billion analysts expected.

Guidance was also upbeat. For the fiscal second quarter, Sandisk projected revenue of $12.2 billion to $12.6 billion and earnings of $55 to $57 per share, above the $54.69 consensus. The company also announced an 8-for-1 stock split, which will lower the per-share price without changing the value of anyone's holding.

A mixed after-hours reaction

Even so, extended trading did not deliver a clean rally. Reports differed on direction: some sources showed the shares lower after hours, while another had them edging higher. After-hours moves are often thin and volatile, and they shifted through the evening as investors digested the report alongside heavy after-hours declines in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).

The wider session

Sandisk's slide was part of a split market. The Nasdaq Composite lost 365.13 points to 26,184.72, and the S&P 500 slipped 23.59 points to 7,720.39. Yet more than 400 S&P 500 members rose, eight of 11 sectors advanced and the Russell 2000 gained 28.71 points to 2,859.22. One market strategist said, "Money is rotating within the market rather than leaving it."

That rotation favoured health care, real estate and utilities over technology. Another strategist said "markets are no longer rewarding companies simply for investing heavily in AI."

What to watch

Friday's regular session will show whether Sandisk's beat and guidance can win over investors once full trading Volume returns, or whether the AI-spending worries that dragged memory lower on Thursday keep the upper hand. Details on the timing of the 8-for-1 split will also be in focus.

The read-across from Amazon, which kept its $220 billion capex plan, and Intel, which guided well below expectations, could sway chip stocks broadly. Friday also brings the Employment Cost Index, while the Federal Reserve's December 8–9 meeting, where futures lean toward a hike, remains a key backdrop for growth stocks.