Earnings season is getting underway, and one of the more interesting reports on the calendar belongs to Sandisk (SNDK -0.34%). Since spinning off from Western Digital in February 2025, Sandisk has emerged as a key beneficiary of the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boom.
Sandisk stock has surged as demand for memory and storage outpaces supply, creating an unusually favorable pricing environment. With fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings scheduled for Oct. 29, Wall Street is expecting another blockbuster quarter. Investors are now wondering whether it is better to buy Sandisk stock before earnings or wait until afterward.
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Wall Street has high expectations for Sandisk
Sandisk manufactures NAND flash memory, the technology powering solid-state drives (SSDs), smartphones, computers, and enterprise storage systems. As AI infrastructure expands, data centers require increasingly sophisticated storage systems to manage enormous amounts of data. That's creating an attractive value proposition for Sandisk.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Wall Street expects Sandisk to generate $10.7 billion in revenue alongside earnings of roughly $46 per share. These are extraordinary numbers considering the company generated $20.2 billion in revenue during its entire previous fiscal year.
What makes the upcoming report particularly interesting is that investors have already received an encouraging preview of memory industry conditions from another major manufacturer.
NASDAQ: SNDK
Key Data Points
Micron's earnings could be a proxy for Sandisk
On Sept. 30, Micron Technology (MU -3.62%) reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $54.2 billion, representing a jaw-dropping increase of 379% year over year. The company also reported a gross margin of 87%, underscoring the pricing power memory producers currently possess.
Management's outlook is what has me thinking Sandisk could surprise to the upside. During the earnings call, Micron's management said it expects memory and storage supply-and-demand conditions to be "much tighter" in fiscal 2027 and 2028 relative to last year.
In my eyes, this commentary suggests that both Micron and Sandisk will benefit when demand exceeds available manufacturing capacity. Sandisk's management has echoed similar thoughts around supply constraints and growing customer demand in the storage market. In turn, if NAND prices continue climbing while production remains constrained, Sandisk should be in a position to deliver stronger-than-expected revenue, profit margins, and earnings.
Should you buy Sandisk stock before Oct. 29?
Sandisk stock trades around $1,500, while Wall Street expects approximately $215 in earnings per share during fiscal 2027. That translates into a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.
On the surface, that looks inexpensive for a company experiencing explosive growth. But remember, memory manufacturers historically trade at relatively low multiples because their profits fluctuate dramatically with supply-and-demand cycles. With that said, all signs point to AI infrastructure spending being a secular tailwind. If production shortages persist through 2028, investors could begin assigning Sandisk a higher multiple.
Of course, there's no guarantee that Sandisk stock will rally following a strong earnings report. The stock could decline even after delivering impressive results if investors take profits or if management's guidance disappoints. This is why I wouldn't make Oct. 29 the deciding factor for an investment in Sandisk stock.
Instead, investors who believe in Sandisk's multiyear growth opportunity should consider dollar-cost averaging -- purchasing shares in smaller increments over a long-term time horizon rather than committing their entire allocation before one earnings announcement. While this approach doesn't eliminate downside risk, it reduces dependence on timing the perfect entry point.
Overall, I see Sandisk as an attractive semiconductor stock. Rather than trying to predict the stock's immediate reaction to the upcoming earnings report, smart investors may consider accumulating shares gradually as the more sensible long-term strategy throughout the AI infrastructure supercycle.
