The year may not have been a great one for the stock market so far, primarily due to the Middle East crisis, which has led to an increase in volatility, higher oil prices, and a growing probability of a recession. But not all stocks have been bogged down by the broader market's weakness.
The Nasdaq-100 index has appreciated 5% in 2026. However, Sandisk (SNDK 1.93%), which became a part of this index on April 20, has jumped by a whopping 285% this year. Investors have been buying Sandisk stock hand over fist to benefit from the massive demand for the flash storage chips it manufactures.
Now, you may be wondering if there is more upside in store for Sandisk following its red-hot rally so far this year. I think this tech stock could easily help investors double their money.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
NAND flash price growth won't slow down in 2026, and even in 2027
Sandisk was spun off from Western Digital in February last year. An investment of just $100 in Sandisk stock at that time is now worth just over $2,500. The biggest reason behind this stunning multibagger performance from Sandisk is the rise in NAND flash storage prices in the past year.
NASDAQ: SNDK
Key Data Points
Kingston, which sells flash memory products used in computers, smartphones, data centers, and other applications, noted in December 2025 that NAND flash prices rose by a remarkable 246% during the year. This surge was triggered by a sharp increase in demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
These data centers need to store large data sets for AI model training and inference applications. So, once AI data centers exhausted the supply of traditional hard-disk drives (HDDs) to meet their storage needs, they turned their attention to SSDs. It didn't take long for AI data centers to consume the available SSD supply as well.
Flash memory manufacturer Kioxia noted in January 2026 that its NAND supply for 2026 is already sold out. The company expects to sell out its 2027 capacity as well, suggesting that the high NAND flash pricing environment is here to stay.
Not surprisingly, market research firm Gartner is projecting a 234% spike in NAND flash prices this year. That's almost equal to last year's jump. This trend of triple-digit price increases could continue next year as well, as memory shortages are likely to continue into 2028.
This huge spike should aid Sandisk's eye-popping earnings growth.
Exponential earnings growth can easily help the stock double
Sandisk has clocked $7.55 per share in non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings in the first half of fiscal 2026 (which ended on Jan. 2, 2026), up by nearly 150% year over year. Its fiscal third-quarter guidance of $13 per share is significantly higher than the earnings Sandisk has reported in the first half. Even better, analysts are expecting the company to end the year with $44.50 per share in earnings, suggesting that its bottom-line growth will continue to accelerate.
More importantly, Sandisk's consensus earnings estimates for the next fiscal year have been rising.
SNDK EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts
Analysts currently anticipate a 2.5-fold increase in Sandisk's earnings in fiscal 2027. Don't be surprised if that estimate heads even higher due to the triple-digit price growth the NAND flash market could see.
But even if Sandisk achieves $114.38 earnings per share next year and trades at 24 times earnings at that time (in line with the Nasdaq-100 index's forward earnings multiple), its stock price could reach $2,745. That's 3 times the current stock price, indicating that investors can still buy this AI stock even after the impressive rally it has delivered in the past year or so.
