SanDisk Soars 580% to Claim S&P 500 Crown

Talk about a breakout year. SanDisk didn't just climb the rankings—it rocketed past every other company on the benchmark S&P 500 index with a staggering 580% surge. The move redefines what's possible in a single market cycle and sends a clear signal about where investor confidence is flowing.

From Storage Stalwart to Market Leader

This wasn't a slow-and-steady grind. The performance represents a fundamental re-rating, catapulting the data storage specialist from a reliable component to the index's top performer. Analysts are scrambling to adjust their models, while portfolio managers are forced to confront a new hierarchy in their holdings.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Let's be clear: a 580% gain in the public markets isn't just good—it's historic for a company of this scale. It's the kind of return that turns cautious investors into true believers and leaves short-sellers nursing historic losses. The ascent highlights a market increasingly betting on infrastructure players in the data economy.

A New Benchmark for Value

Forget the old guard. SanDisk's pole position reshuffles the deck on traditional value metrics and growth expectations. It proves that deep, specialized tech can command premium valuations, especially when it sits at the core of multiple secular trends—from AI to cloud computing.

Of course, Wall Street will now spend millions on reports explaining the 'why' behind the move—a classic case of paying for the rearview mirror analysis. One thing's certain: when a stock delivers a nearly six-bagger return, it doesn't just lead the index; it rewrites the rules for everyone else.

Finding value beyond tech giants

There’s room to grow and better prices if you invest in companies set to benefit from the billions hyperscalers are spending on building data centers.

Matt Sallee manages portfolios at Tortoise Capital Advisors. His firm doesn’t own any hyperscaler shares. “What we are focused on are the picks and shovels of where that money is being spent,” he said. “The chips to a degree, but more so some of the names that you haven’t really heard of.”

Some people on Wall Street worry the spending could slow down, which WOULD reverse the gains in AI-related stocks. It’s kind of like what happened during the pandemic with basic health supplies.

“Covid hit and this world needed way more face masks, hand sanitizer, all those things,” said Jed Ellerbroek, Argent Capital Management portfolio manager. But within six to 12 months, there was too much of everything, and “those businesses that supplied those things went from the best times ever to the absolute worst times ever.”

But investors are staying bullish on the AI trade since the hyperscalers keep saying they’ll spend. Here’s what people are buying right now.

Wall Street thinks storage will stay hot in 2026 after Sandisk, Western Digital, and Seagate surged this year. But the good times for 2025’s winners might be wrapping up. Analysts see Sandisk hitting $264 in 2026, which is only about 8 percent higher than where it sits now at around $244.

Pure Storage Inc. looks like it has more upside. It’s trading at $68, but analysts think it’ll reach $94 in 2026—a 38 percent jump. Other digital storage names tied to AI include NetApp Inc. and Dell Technologies Inc.

A bunch of stocks connected to building and powering data centers should keep running. Sallee from Tortoise Capital likes Quanta Services Inc., which does specialized work for utilities and telecommunications companies. Other contractors include MYR Group Inc., Primoris Services Corp., and MasTec Inc.

Wiring companies are getting attention, too. Amphenol designs and makes high-speed fiber and copper connections used in data centers. Emcor Group Inc. does mechanical and electrical construction. Other power infrastructure names include Vistra Corp., Constellation Energy Corp., GE Vernova, and Generac Holdings Inc., which makes backup generators.

Bitcoin miners making the pivot to AI

Bitcoin miners represent a “total revaluation story”, as previously reported by Cryptopolitan, as they pivot from mining cryptocurrency to powering data centers. “They have the electricity already, they’ve had it for five-plus years to produce Bitcoin,” Sallee said. “They’re going to redirect that electricity to higher-value, long-term contracts for high-performance computing hosting.”

Companies here include Bitdeer Technologies Group. Its shares jumped in October after the company said it would MOVE further into AI. Shares of IREN Ltd., Cipher Mining Inc., Riot Platforms Inc., and WhiteFiber Inc. have gotten a boost from plans to convert to high-performance computing data centers.

Data centers need specialized heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Vertiv Holdings Co. provides power systems and cooling solutions for data centers. It’s up 46 percent in 2025 and worth watching. Eaton Corp. is another power management firm that overlaps with Vertiv but isn’t as focused, according to Seltz.

Other names include Comfort Systems USA Inc., which installs and maintains HVAC systems. Water providers include Xylem Inc., Ecolab Inc., and American Water Works Co.

Some investors with longer views are watching software companies as future AI beneficiaries as language models get better and more applications get built.

Melissa Otto heads technology, media, and telecommunications research at Visible Alpha. “Investors are, I think, naturally inclined to look for companies that have cheaper valuations with terrific magnitude of growth that are potentially gonna really benefit from the application of AI,” she said.

Software stocks haven’t done as well this year. The S&P 500 Software Industry Index is up 12 percent in 2025 compared with a 17 percent gain in the overall benchmark. But that’s made the valuations look better.

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