SanDisk’s board approved an 8-for-1 stock split as the company reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $11 billion, up 23% from the previous quarter. Split-adjusted trading is expected to begin Nov. 20. Past stock-split announcements have produced mixed results: five of eight stocks reviewed were higher a year later, with a median gain of about 26%, but returns ranged from a 43% loss to a 79% gain. A split alone offers no reliable signal about where a stock will go next; the share price at the time and the market environment that follows also matter.
Five of eight stocks rose in the year after their announcements
The comparison covers stock-split announcements by Apple on July 30, 2020; Nvidia on May 21, 2021, and May 22, 2024; Alphabet on Feb. 1, 2022; Amazon on March 9, 2022; Walmart on Jan. 30, 2024; Broadcom on June 12, 2024; and Netflix on Oct. 30, 2025.
Measured from each announcement-day close, Walmart gained about 79% over the following year, Broadcom rose 71%, and Apple climbed 52%. Nvidia was up 40% a year after its 2024 announcement. Its 2021 split was followed by a smaller gain of about 11%, while the S&P 500 fell over the same period. Alphabet dropped about 27% and Amazon declined 34%. At the time of the comparison, Netflix was one day short of the first anniversary of its announcement and was down about 43%. The figures reflect split-adjusted share-price changes and exclude dividends.
The sample therefore shows more gainers than losers, but with a wide spread in returns. The historical record does not point to a consistent pattern of gains following a split announcement.
Share prices near their highs offer context
Six of the eight stocks were within roughly 8% of their respective 52-week closing highs when they announced a split; five of those six were higher a year later. Alphabet was the exception. Its subsequent year coincided with the 2022 bear market, when the S&P 500 fell about 9%.
The other two companies announced splits when their shares were further below their highs, and both later fell. Amazon was about 25% below its 52-week closing high on announcement day and lost about 34% over the next year. Netflix was roughly 19% below its high and then fell about 43%. Two examples are not enough to establish a general rule, but they underscore how the starting share price and subsequent market conditions may matter more than the split itself.
SanDisk remains well below its record close
SanDisk closed at about $1,330 on Oct. 29, around 43% below its record closing price of $2,335, set on June 25. Even so, the stock was up about 551% from its close a year earlier. The company’s first-quarter revenue of $11 billion covered the three months ended Oct. 2, 2026, and rose 23% from the previous quarter.
Revenue growth has slowed from the prior two quarters, when it increased 51% and 97% sequentially. Management expects second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $12.2 billion to $12.6 billion, implying sequential growth of about 12% at the midpoint. First-quarter gross margin reached 85%, compared with about 30% a year earlier. The company’s second-quarter guidance calls for gross margin to remain around that level.
Data-center revenue surges as valuation reflects earnings uncertainty
SanDisk’s data-center revenue rose 61% sequentially to $4.8 billion in the first quarter, up from $269 million a year earlier. That rapid expansion marks a major shift in the company’s revenue mix. How long growth and margins can be sustained remains central to the market’s assessment of its results.
Based on adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share over the past four quarters, SanDisk trades at about 11 times earnings. If it matches the midpoint of its second-quarter adjusted EPS guidance in each quarter over the next year, the multiple would be about six times at the current share price. That rough calculation assumes earnings hold at the projected level; it is not a forecast of actual results. A low multiple can also reflect market reservations about how durable earnings will be.
SanDisk’s business is substantially stronger than it was a year ago, but its shares were far below their record when the split was announced, and revenue growth and gross-margin trends have shifted from their earlier pace. Whether flash-memory prices stay high over an extended period may have more direct bearing on expectations for future results than the split itself. Split-adjusted trading is expected to start Nov. 20; the change in share count is separate from any change in the company’s underlying business.