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4 AI Memory Stocks to Buy Now Before Prices Spike Even Higher
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Key Takeaways
Sandisk benefits from AI-driven NAND demand, which led to data center revenues soaring 645% YoY in Q3'26.
Micron sold out 2026 HBM supply, with much of 2027 production already committed via agreements.
Seagate and Western Digital are gaining from rising AI data storage needs and stronger pricing conditions.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating a massive shift across the global technology ecosystem. While early stock market winners mostly included massive chip designers and cloud computing giants, the focus of Wall Street is rapidly expanding. A new bottleneck has emerged in the AI pipeline, and it centers entirely around memory and storage solutions. AI models require enormous amounts of data to be stored, accessed and processed at high speed, making memory a critical component of the AI infrastructure ecosystem.
The boom in AI applications, ranging from generative AI and autonomous systems to cloud computing and enterprise analytics, is increasing the need for high-performance memory products. Data centers are expanding aggressively to support AI training and inference workloads, creating strong demand for DRAM, NAND flash memory and high-capacity storage solutions. As hyperscalers and enterprises invest heavily in AI infrastructure, memory suppliers are becoming some of the biggest beneficiaries of this spending cycle.
Another major tailwind for the industry is tightening supply. Years of disciplined capacity additions, combined with surging AI-related demand, have created shortages across several memory categories. These supply constraints have pushed memory prices significantly higher, boosting profitability for leading memory manufacturers. Rising average selling prices are helping companies generate stronger revenue growth and expand margins.
Investors have already started recognizing this trend. Shares of SanDisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) , Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) , Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX - Free Report) and Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) have skyrocketed 734.2%, 244%, 238.1% and 226.8%, respectively, year to date. Despite these impressive gains, the long-term AI opportunity remains substantial as memory demand is expected to grow for years.
The aforementioned four AI memory stocks will continue benefiting from this powerful industry trend, and it is wise to invest in these stocks before prices spike even higher. These stocks have a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), offering solid investment opportunities.
Our Picks
SanDisk has become one of the strongest performers in the memory space. The company is benefiting from a sharp recovery in the NAND flash memory market, driven by strong demand and tighter supply. AI applications require massive amounts of data storage for training and inference, increasing the need for high-performance NAND products used in enterprise SSDs and data centers. Sandisk’s data center revenues soared 645% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
The company has also gained from industry-wide production discipline, which has helped reduce excess inventory and improve pricing. Rising NAND prices are boosting revenues and profitability across the sector. As cloud providers and enterprises continue investing heavily in AI infrastructure, demand for flash-based storage solutions is expected to remain strong. SanDisk’s focus on NAND technology positions it well to capitalize on this long-term growth opportunity.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Sandisk’s revenues jumped 251% year over year, while non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) were $23.41. In the year-ago quarter, it had reported a non-GAAP loss of 30 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of 164% and 2,097%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Micron Technology is one of the leading suppliers of DRAM and NAND memory and has emerged as a key player in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market. HBM is critical for AI accelerators because it enables faster data processing and improves performance in large language models and generative AI applications.
The strength of this demand is evident in Micron Technology’s order book. The company has already sold out its HBM supply for the calendar year 2026, while a significant portion of 2027 production is already committed through long-term customer agreements.
This favorable supply-demand environment is supporting higher pricing and stronger margins. Beyond HBM, demand for conventional DRAM used in AI servers continues to rise. As hyperscalers expand AI data centers and enterprises deploy advanced AI workloads, Micron Technology remains one of the most direct beneficiaries of the growing AI memory market.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, MU’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 196% and 682%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of approximately 198% and 627%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Currently, Micron Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
Seagate Technology is benefiting from another important aspect of the AI revolution — the explosive growth of data generation. While AI processors attract most of the attention, the data supporting AI models must be stored efficiently, creating strong demand for Seagate Technology’s high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs). The company’s nearline storage products are widely used by hyperscale cloud providers that manage vast amounts of AI-related information.
AI model training requires storing and accessing huge datasets, making large-capacity storage increasingly important. Seagate Technology continues to invest in advanced drive technologies that increase storage density and improve efficiency. At the same time, improving industry supply-demand conditions have supported healthier pricing trends. As AI adoption expands across industries, the need for cost-effective large-scale storage solutions is expected to rise, creating a favorable backdrop for Seagate Technology’s long-term growth.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, STX’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 44% and 116%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of approximately 32% and 84%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Currently, Seagate Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC Price and Consensus
Western Digital is benefiting from the same AI-driven data storage trend, which is aiding Seagate Technology’s growth. The two companies together control the majority of global data center HDD shipments.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Western Digital shipped 222 exabytes, representing a 34% year-over-year increase. This included 4.1 million next-gen ePMR drives, totaling 118 exabytes, with capacities of up to 32TB (terabytes), highlighting the rapid scaling of new technology to meet strong demand.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, WDC’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 45% and 97%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues indicates a year-over-year decline 3%, mainly due to the inclusion of revenues from the separated Sandisk business in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days and calls for a year-over-year surge of 104%.
Currently, Western Digital sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of B.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
4 AI Memory Stocks to Buy Now Before Prices Spike Even Higher
Key Takeaways
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating a massive shift across the global technology ecosystem. While early stock market winners mostly included massive chip designers and cloud computing giants, the focus of Wall Street is rapidly expanding. A new bottleneck has emerged in the AI pipeline, and it centers entirely around memory and storage solutions. AI models require enormous amounts of data to be stored, accessed and processed at high speed, making memory a critical component of the AI infrastructure ecosystem.
The boom in AI applications, ranging from generative AI and autonomous systems to cloud computing and enterprise analytics, is increasing the need for high-performance memory products. Data centers are expanding aggressively to support AI training and inference workloads, creating strong demand for DRAM, NAND flash memory and high-capacity storage solutions. As hyperscalers and enterprises invest heavily in AI infrastructure, memory suppliers are becoming some of the biggest beneficiaries of this spending cycle.
Another major tailwind for the industry is tightening supply. Years of disciplined capacity additions, combined with surging AI-related demand, have created shortages across several memory categories. These supply constraints have pushed memory prices significantly higher, boosting profitability for leading memory manufacturers. Rising average selling prices are helping companies generate stronger revenue growth and expand margins.
Investors have already started recognizing this trend. Shares of SanDisk Corporation (SNDK - Free Report) , Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) , Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX - Free Report) and Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) have skyrocketed 734.2%, 244%, 238.1% and 226.8%, respectively, year to date. Despite these impressive gains, the long-term AI opportunity remains substantial as memory demand is expected to grow for years.
The aforementioned four AI memory stocks will continue benefiting from this powerful industry trend, and it is wise to invest in these stocks before prices spike even higher. These stocks have a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), offering solid investment opportunities.
Our Picks
SanDisk has become one of the strongest performers in the memory space. The company is benefiting from a sharp recovery in the NAND flash memory market, driven by strong demand and tighter supply. AI applications require massive amounts of data storage for training and inference, increasing the need for high-performance NAND products used in enterprise SSDs and data centers. Sandisk’s data center revenues soared 645% year over year in the third quarter of fiscal 2026.
The company has also gained from industry-wide production discipline, which has helped reduce excess inventory and improve pricing. Rising NAND prices are boosting revenues and profitability across the sector. As cloud providers and enterprises continue investing heavily in AI infrastructure, demand for flash-based storage solutions is expected to remain strong. SanDisk’s focus on NAND technology positions it well to capitalize on this long-term growth opportunity.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Sandisk’s revenues jumped 251% year over year, while non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) were $23.41. In the year-ago quarter, it had reported a non-GAAP loss of 30 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of 164% and 2,097%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Currently, SNDK sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Sandisk Corporation Price and Consensus
Sandisk Corporation price-consensus-chart | Sandisk Corporation Quote
Micron Technology is one of the leading suppliers of DRAM and NAND memory and has emerged as a key player in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market. HBM is critical for AI accelerators because it enables faster data processing and improves performance in large language models and generative AI applications.
The strength of this demand is evident in Micron Technology’s order book. The company has already sold out its HBM supply for the calendar year 2026, while a significant portion of 2027 production is already committed through long-term customer agreements.
This favorable supply-demand environment is supporting higher pricing and stronger margins. Beyond HBM, demand for conventional DRAM used in AI servers continues to rise. As hyperscalers expand AI data centers and enterprises deploy advanced AI workloads, Micron Technology remains one of the most direct beneficiaries of the growing AI memory market.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, MU’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 196% and 682%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of approximately 198% and 627%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Currently, Micron Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
Micron Technology, Inc. Price and Consensus
Micron Technology, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Micron Technology, Inc. Quote
Seagate Technology is benefiting from another important aspect of the AI revolution — the explosive growth of data generation. While AI processors attract most of the attention, the data supporting AI models must be stored efficiently, creating strong demand for Seagate Technology’s high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs). The company’s nearline storage products are widely used by hyperscale cloud providers that manage vast amounts of AI-related information.
AI model training requires storing and accessing huge datasets, making large-capacity storage increasingly important. Seagate Technology continues to invest in advanced drive technologies that increase storage density and improve efficiency. At the same time, improving industry supply-demand conditions have supported healthier pricing trends. As AI adoption expands across industries, the need for cost-effective large-scale storage solutions is expected to rise, creating a favorable backdrop for Seagate Technology’s long-term growth.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, STX’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 44% and 116%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues and EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of approximately 32% and 84%, respectively. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days.
Currently, Seagate Technology sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC Price and Consensus
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC price-consensus-chart | Seagate Technology Holdings PLC Quote
Western Digital is benefiting from the same AI-driven data storage trend, which is aiding Seagate Technology’s growth. The two companies together control the majority of global data center HDD shipments.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Western Digital shipped 222 exabytes, representing a 34% year-over-year increase. This included 4.1 million next-gen ePMR drives, totaling 118 exabytes, with capacities of up to 32TB (terabytes), highlighting the rapid scaling of new technology to meet strong demand.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, WDC’s revenues and non-GAAP EPS surged 45% and 97%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 revenues indicates a year-over-year decline 3%, mainly due to the inclusion of revenues from the separated Sandisk business in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for fiscal 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past seven days and calls for a year-over-year surge of 104%.
Currently, Western Digital sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of B.
Western Digital Corporation Price and Consensus
Western Digital Corporation price-consensus-chart | Western Digital Corporation Quote