Micron and Sandisk Have Crushed Nvidia as the Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock in 2026. Can That Continue?

NVIDIA's AI leadership is being tested as memory peers surge in 2026. Nvidia stock has risen about 12% year to date, lagging the S&P 500's roughly 8% gain, while Micron has surged about 228% and SanDisk nearly 600%, drawing renewed attention to memory chips used in AI workloads. Strong data-center demand for NAND and DRAM continues to outpace supply, helping memory names outpace broader markets. Yet Nvidia remains in demand, having beaten earnings expectations with revenue up about 85% year over year and guiding next-quarter revenue near $91 billion. The company also signals AI capital expenditure by hyperscalers approaching $1 trillion next year, up from about $650 billion this year. Valuation metrics place Nvidia at roughly 23.3 times forward earnings for 2027 and about 16 times for 2028, suggesting investors anticipate continued AI-driven growth even as memory peers surge.