SanDisk CEO says price talks are over as AI transforms client relations into long-term partnerships

SanDisk’s CEO David Goeckeler just described a moment that semiconductor executives dream about: customers stopped haggling over price and started asking for long-term partnerships instead. During the company’s Q4 earnings call, Goeckeler explained that artificial intelligence demand has fundamentally rewired how SanDisk interacts with its biggest buyers. Conversations that used to revolve around squeezing out a few cents per gigabyte are now happening at the C-suite level, focused on locking in multi-year supply agreements. The company now has over four years of demand visibility, which in the memory chip business is roughly the equivalent of having a crystal ball. The numbers behind the narrative shift SanDisk’s quarterly results back up the CEO’s enthusiasm. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $39.25, blowing past analyst estimates of $34.45. Revenue came in at $8.97 billion, comfortably ahead of the $8.39 billion Wall Street had penciled in. Here’s the number that really tells the story: a year ago, SanDisk pulled in $1.9 billion in quarterly revenue. That’s roughly a 4.7x increase in twelve months. The company’s forward guidance suggests the trajectory isn’t fl...