Three companies that spent years being overshadowed by GPU makers are now stealing the show. Western Digital, Micron Technology, and Sandisk have all reached record stock prices as the AI infrastructure buildout shifts its attention from processing power to the unsexy but essential question of where all that data actually lives.
Western Digital and Sandisk shares have each climbed over 200% in 2026. Micron, powered by its position in high-bandwidth memory production, has ridden a wave of hyperscaler demand to its own all-time highs.
Why storage is the new GPU
Micron’s edge comes from its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production. HBM is the type of memory that sits right next to AI processors and feeds them data at blistering speeds. Hyperscalers, the Amazons and Microsofts of the world who operate massive data centers, have been racing to secure supply. That demand pressure has driven a recovery in memory pricing that looked unlikely just 18 months ago.
Western Digital and Sandisk are capturing the enterprise storage side, and the two companies are now better positioned to attack this market independently, following Western Digital’s spinoff of Sandisk in February 2025. That spinoff created two focused entities: Western Digital concentrating on hard drives and enterprise storage, Sandisk zeroing in on flash memory and consumer products. Both stocks have more than tripled since the separation.
