Sandisk Slides as AI Slowdown Call Triggers Memory Selloff

Sandisk Leads Memory Stocks Lower After AI Slowdown Call

Sandisk shares fell about 5.3% to roughly $1,546 in Monday afternoon trading, according to an Investing.com cash-market read cited in industry coverage. The flash-memory company traded as low as approximately $1,505 during the session after dropping as much as 7.9% earlier in the day, placing it near the center of a global semiconductor selloff that hit memory-related names particularly hard. The slide reflected investor concern that the pace of AI infrastructure spending could decelerate after a year in which tight high-bandwidth memory supply and rising memory pricing had driven sharp margin expansion across the industry.

Asia Sets the Tone With SK Hynix and Kioxia

The pressure first appeared in Asian markets. SK Hynix fell 6.35% in South Korea and Kioxia dropped 6.37% in Japan, while Samsung Electronics declined 4.05%, according to an Investing.com market read cited alongside the Sandisk report. SK Hynix has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of the HBM shortage powering Nvidia-class AI accelerators, while Kioxia and Sandisk operate directly in the NAND market. The selloff came only days after Kioxia Chief Executive Hiroo Ota signaled that memory pricing may already have risen far enough, with the company pledging to prevent further NAND price increases after NAND average selling prices jumped roughly 70% sequentially.

European Chipmakers Extend the Declines

European semiconductor shares opened sharply lower as the global move spread. At 07:10 GMT, ASM International was down 10.33%, Infineon 8.25%, BE Semiconductor 8.22%, STMicroelectronics 6.63% and ASML 4.4%. A later Reuters read published at 09:35 UTC showed some moves moderating but still severe, with Soitec down 12.6%, ASM International 8.7%, Infineon 7.6% and ASML 5.2%, while the broader STOXX 600 was lower by only about 0.3%. The divergent intensity between semiconductor subsectors and the broader European benchmark underscored how narrowly the AI-spending worry was concentrated in memory and chip-equipment names.

Pricing Power Tests the Next Earnings Read

Sandisk's quarterly results have been driven overwhelmingly by memory pricing rather than unit volumes, with one industry analysis attributing roughly two-thirds of the company's sales jump in the latest quarter to higher prices. That mix leaves the stock especially exposed to any reset in NAND pricing expectations. With Kioxia already capping further increases after its 70% sequential NAND ASP gain, investors are weighing whether Sandisk's recent margin expansion can hold if AI infrastructure spending cools and buyers push back on additional price hikes.

What to Watch Next

The next test is whether major memory sellers, including Sandisk, signal pricing discipline or further increases in upcoming earnings calls and industry events, and whether the early-September Kioxia pricing warning extends into broader supply-chain guidance. Investors are also watching Asian trading sessions for follow-through selling in SK Hynix, Kioxia and Samsung, which set the directional tone for U.S. memory names the previous day.