SanDisk earnings look good on paper, but don't rush in

Bottom line first: SanDisk (a brand under Western Digital, not a standalone public company) had a stellar performance in its storage business during fiscal year 2026. According to industry analyst estimates, net profit was around $11.433 billion, up 797% YoY, with revenue of approximately $20.248 billion and a gross margin of 71.5%. The numbers are indeed impressive, but if you're a product person like me, seeing such explosive growth should make you skeptical. Gross margin jumping from 30% to 71%? What does that mean? It means the product mix has shifted drastically—the share of low-margin consumer flash memory is plummeting while high-margin data center SSDs are ramping up like crazy. This isn't operational improvement; it's an industry cycle combined with the AI boom. Sustainability is questionable.