Memory stocks took a sharp hit on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, as Broadcom's cautious AI chip guidance rippled across the semiconductor sector. Micron (MU), SanDisk (SNDK), and Western Digital (WDC) each posted significant declines, with the pullback triggering renewed retail buying interest even as institutional investors reassessed AI trade positioning.
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Broadcom Guidance Triggers Semiconductor Selloff
Broadcom's fiscal second-quarter results arrived after market close on Monday, beating on both revenue and profit but delivering softer-than-expected AI chip guidance. The custom AI chipmaker projected $16 billion in AI chip revenue for the upcoming quarter, falling short of the $17.2 billion analyst consensus. Broadcom also kept its fiscal year 2027 total revenue outlook unchanged at $100 billion.
The shortfall rattled investors who had grown accustomed to AI-linked chipmakers consistently exceeding elevated expectations. AVGO stock tumbled 12.6% in the prior session, marking its steepest single-day decline since January 2025. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell 12.18% on Tuesday, while the broader Invesco QQQ Trust shed 0.5%.
Memory Stocks: MU, SNDK, WDC Bear the Brunt
The Broadcom-driven selloff hit memory stocks particularly hard as investors rotated out of high-multiple semiconductor names.
Micron (MU) led declines, falling 10.90% to $877.46 per share on volume of 47.6 million shares. The stock has given back a substantial portion of its 2026 gains, though it remains dramatically higher year-to-date. Micron carries a market cap of approximately $991 billion, trading at a P/E of 40.87 and a P/S of 17.04. The company posted TTM revenue of $58.12 billion with net income of $24.11 billion and an impressive net margin of 41.49%.
SanDisk (SNDK) experienced the steepest percentage decline, dropping 29.18% to $1,235.46. Trading volume surged to 21.5 million shares as sellers overwhelmed the tape. SNDK maintains a market cap of $182.96 billion with a P/E of 40.51 and net margin of 34.19%. Despite today's sharp correction, the stock remains up hundreds of percent year-to-date.
Western Digital (WDC) fell 16.01% to $485.00 per share on volume of 6.2 million shares. WDC presents the most attractive valuation among memory peers, trading at a P/E of just 25.95 with the highest net margin in the group at 55.07%. The company's TTM revenue stands at $11.78 billion against net income of $6.49 billion.
Micron Fundamentals Remain Strong Despite Pullback
Micron's recent earnings history underscores the company's operational strength. Most recently, Micron reported fiscal Q3 2026 results on June 24, delivering EPS of $25.11 against a consensus estimate of $20.98, a beat of nearly 20%. Revenue came in at $41.46 billion versus expectations of $35.91 billion, representing a massive outperformance.
Looking ahead, analysts project Micron will report EPS of $31.16 on revenue of $50.45 billion for its fiscal Q4 2026, scheduled for September 22, 2026. These estimates suggest continued momentum even as the stock undergoes current digestion.
Retail Investors See Buying Opportunity
While institutional investors took profits following Broadcom's guidance disappointment, retail traders moved to accumulate memory positions. Social sentiment for Micron shifted from neutral to bullish, with traders citing the AI-driven memory demand outlook and multi-year supply commitments as reasons to buy the dip.
"Micron, SanDisk, and Western Digital have all indicated that demand for their memory chips remains at record levels, with much of their output already committed for the next two years," noted one trader. "As they move to expand production capacity to meet growing AI-driven demand, the setup remains strongly bullish."
Analysts at several firms have echoed this view, maintaining constructive ratings on memory stocks despite near-term volatility. China's CXMT IPO debut, which saw the domestic memory rival surge 466% on its first trading day, has added complexity to the competitive landscape, though Wall Street analysts largely see limited near-term threat to Micron's HBM leadership.
Sector Outlook: Memory Remains AI-Infrastructure Critical
The selloff in memory stocks reflects short-term sentiment shifts rather than fundamental deterioration. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) remains a critical component in AI accelerators, and hyperscale operators continue to build out AI infrastructure at an aggressive pace.
For investors tracking the memory trade, Vantafin provides live quotes, historical price data, fundamentals, and upcoming earnings dates. Use the screener to compare valuation metrics across MU, SNDK, and WDC, or pull real-time data via the REST API for programmatic analysis.