SanDisk Slides 7%, Micron and Western Digital Fall 5% on AI Pause Call

The selloff extends a November 4 decline tied to election results and memory price worries. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, giving the party full control for the first time since 2023. Rep. Yassamin Ansari's post on X raised the policy stakes by putting a pause on advanced AI development at the top of the Democratic agenda, language that takes direct aim at the AI infrastructure spending behind recent record results at SanDisk, Micron and Western Digital.

Campaign messaging from Democrats has pushed data center operators to cover their own power and infrastructure costs and meet tougher environmental standards, and market participants expect new rules could slow the data center expansion that drives demand for memory and storage products. SanDisk's data center revenue reached $4.80 billion in Q1, up 61% sequentially on AI infrastructure demand, tying the company closely to the expansion lawmakers are now questioning.

The three companies' contracts offer some contrast. Micron said more than 75% of its fiscal 2027 shipments are committed under 26 strategic customer agreements through 2030, and Western Digital's CEO cited visibility up to 2030 and 2031 across its top seven customers. Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman wrote on X that semiconductor and infrastructure CEOs see demand outside the U.S. as more than sufficient if the U.S. build slows, a view that may limit how far the policy threat weighs on the group.